Evening star., 1955-02-08
District PTA
Asks Money
For Retarded
Compoien Pushed
To Line Up Support
For Restoring Funds
By jones 6. Deone


The District Congress of Par
entS and Teachers today urged
Congress to restore funds for re-
tarded children to the pending
District school budget.
The Board of Managers of the
PTA organization also urged
restoration of some additional
special teachers for science, art
and music and two clinical psy-,
biologists.
The funds involved -totaling
$2S5, ,563-were deleted from the
school budget for the next fiscal
year by the District Commission
ers. The funds including SAL
aries for 81 teachers urgently
needed for special classes for the
mentally retarded, as well as
some specialists in speech cor
rection and remedial reading.
The Star disclosed recently
that the school system has more
than 1900 elementary pupils.
apparently retarded, vino are
now in regular classes.
Drive Begun Last Week.
Today's action by the PTA
board was part of a campaign
launched last week to line up the
city's individual parent-teacher
organizations in behalf of the
budget restoration. The g.
member groups of the PTA Con-
gress have already been called
upon to join in a protest against
the budget cuts, and leaders are
planning to organize delegations
to appear at congressional hear
ingS.
Mrs. Samuel Bigio, legislation
committee member, told the PTA
board that all the school budget
cuts are deplored by the PTA
organization. The total school
budget was slashed almost $4.5
million.
But Mrs. Bigio said leaders
feel efforts should be concen-
trated on restoring the special
teacher funds because lack of
such teachers seems to be the
most serious. ...-
Board members also voted to
ask Congress to retain in the
budget $4,000 for IA elemen-
tary school clerks.
National Groups Brought In.
The board. after being told
that the biggest problem in
school funds is getting an in
adequate contribution to the
city's budget from the Federal
Government, voted to seek help
from the National Parents and
Teachers on this score. The ma
tional organization will be asked
to make a plank fayoring a big
ger Federal payment to the Dis
trict part of its legislative plat
form.
Mrs. Paul Smith, president of
the Area 3 PTA Council of the
Northeast, called the small pres
ent Federal payment "our big
stumbling block"
The PTA leaders also decided
to step up campaign for small
er classes throughout the Dis
trict school system. The organi-
zation already is on record in
favor of reduction of standard
class size in grade schools from
the present So to 80 pupils.
School Supt. Hobart M. Corn
ing already has informed the
Board of Education that he is
planning to recommend adoption
Of the smaller class size in the
near future, and last night at a.
PTA-sponsored forum a school
official said the change may be
sought with the next school
budget.
Plea Soon Indicated.
Charles N. Zellers, assistant to
School Supt. Hobart M. Corning,
said he believed DR.. Corning
would recommend it before the
end Of the school year.
1t would be necessary for the
board to change its present So
to-1 standard before a budget
based on the lower ratio could be
prepared for fiscal 1857, Mr..
zellers noted. Based on present
enrollments. the reduction in
class sizes would require 374
more eachers and cost
$1,6l3,000.
Authorities answering ques-
tions in addition to Mr.. Zellers
were Representative Harris,
Democrat, of Arkansas, a mem
ber OF the House Distrist Com
mittee; Schuyler Lowe, director
OF general administration for
the District, and Herbert Gill,
chairman Of the Education Com
mittee Of the Washington Board
Of Trade.
The PTA side of the panel
included Mrs. Richard Radue,
legislative chairman of the cong
ress; Charles Smith, Mrs. Sam.
uel Bigio and Bernard c. Eisen-
berg. Alfred E. Friendly, as
sistant managing editor of the
WASHINGTON Post and Times.