Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-01-03
'PTACongress
Fights Cutback
|0f 50 Teachers
Corning Undecided
About His Stund
On Controversy
By JAMES @. DEANE

By JAMES q. DEANE
The District Congress Of Par
ents and Teachers today opposed
any cutback Of teachers In the
Districts high schools.
The Board Of Managers Of the
Congress voted to back the ef-
forts of Assistant School Super
intendent Carl F. Hansen to
block a proposed 50-teacher slash
in senior and junior high schools.
The board also decided to set
Iup a special fact-finding COM
mittee on the subject. John B.
Gillilland, president, said he ex-
poets the congress to send q
spokesman to a Board Of Edu-
cation meeting which will deal
with the proposed cutback later
this month.
School Supt. Hobart M. Corn
ing told reporters this morning
he was not ready to take q stand
on the controversial proposal. He
said he will make q recommen-
dation to the school board at
this months meeting, in &C.
cordance with instructions from
the board.
Board Okayed Cutback
The 5o-teacher cutback was
approved by the School Board
last August as a part Of the
S chool appropriation request
which is due to 30 to Congress
shortly.
| Some board members said last
month. however. that they were
unaware any such plan had been
approved.
DR.. Hansen, in o recent report,
said the proposed slash would
seriously harm the high school
educational program. Asst. Supt.
Lawson J. Cantrell subsequently
said the slash would also hurt
the junior high program.
! DR.. Hansen disclosed a few
days ago that the cutback would
jeopardize new plans to set up a
special remedial program for
reading and arithmetic next fall.
Meetings Planned
DR.. Corning. in discussing the
matter this morning. said he has
scheduled q series Of meetings to
review teacher needs for the en-
tire school system.
He said there is no question
that the schools need additional
teachers. The school systems
biggest problem in the new year
will be to cope with achievement
lags and with widely varying
abilities among many children.
More teachers will be needed for
this. he said.
He described the need for more
special teaching as a problem
which "has to be met"
The PTA board. In another
action. gave indirect support to
leaders Of a parent-teacher as
ISOLATION who recently opposed
a pupil strike.
School Strikes Opposed
The board adopted a resolu-
ton declaring that school strikes
have no place in home school
relationships" and calling on
PTA members to support their
elected leaders.
| Spokesman said the resolution
was inspired by a controversy at
Grant Elementary School. Mrs.
Daniel c. Bremen. Grant PTA
president. recently submitted her
resignation in a dispute over her
opposition to a pupil strike.
The proposed strike, intended
to protest plans to close the
school this month, never came
of. Mrs. Bremer's future status
is scheduled to come up at a
PTA meeting January II.
School officials now have de-
ferred their plan to close Grant
until next spring. when 1t will
be considered again by the
School Board.
The PTA board held over for
study a proposal by Mrs. Willard
r. Culver to ask the school sys-
tenn to prohibit the carrying of
any knives by school children.