Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-01-22
DISTRICT
City Facing
lntegrution
Cost at Lost
BY HECTOR MCLEAN

BY HECTOR MCLEAN
The District is finally facing
up to the price OF indignation
Or. perhaps more accu-
rately. the price Of long years
OF segregation-in Its public
schools.
This underlies the heat OF
recent parent-teacher outcries
for more teachers and for q
decrease in the school systems
standard pupil-teacher ratio.
Essentially 1t reflects the in
equality which existed between
the white and Negro school
systems before indignation,
when every direct comparison
found the colored schools on
the short end Of the stick. 1t Is
this fact that has destroyed
the hopes that indignation
would reduce school costs.
AS one eminent member Of
Congress put it recently. they
had q double-standard. and
now it's pulling down the
higher standards"
The situation is illustrated
by the experience Of one prin-
! cipal, Northerner. who ap-
preached the problem Of
indignation with complete in
tellectual sympathy. He had
been assured that the two
school systems were fully equal.
but his classroom tests irnme-
diately and consistently showed
the newly acquired Negro stu
dents TO be deficient in their
training.
RemedioI Closes
He Immediately set UP re-
medal classes to bring the
Negro children up to the school
standards. The only place he
found where there is no differ
ence today is in the first and
second grades. which have
been integrated from the begin
ming Of their school training.
Demands for an increase in
teaching stan have mounted
steadily ever since indignation
began here.
And. it developed last week,
such public pressure has at
least a limited effect, even in
voteless Washington.
Publication Of the District
budget for the coming fiscal
year disclosed that the Com
miSsioners had restored to the
schools 40 new teachers of the
1853 which they had denied
earlier. The restoration came
after news Of the cut had
produced a full-voiced public
cutlery from parent-teacher
groups.
So far. their efforts have
been directed mostly at get
ting a bigger share Of the
District budget. So long as the
District was operating on a
pay-as-you-go basis and at
tempting to keep its spending
from exceeding its revenues,
this resulted merely in attemp-
ting to chisel funds that would
otherwise go to the police,
health and welfare depart
ments. or other functions of
government.
Now. however. with the Dis
trict already in the red so far
that the only answer Is higher
District taxes and an increase
in the annual Federal pay
ment. parents and teachers
have perhaps their only chance
to bid for an increase--to get
a bigger pie to cut up, rather
than campaigning for Q larger
piece Of the smaller pie
This is the only way they
can raise the overall ceiling
and make good an oft-repeat-
ed statement that they would
be willing to pay more taxes
to help the schools. a.
Bottom Of Borrel
The Commissioners, how
ever, contend that the $40 mil
lion tax increase bill they now
have before the District leg
islative committees of Con-
gress pretty we'll Scrapes the
bottom Of the barrel In tap
ping additional revenue sources.
They say that every increase
beyond the taxes they have
proposed would not only hurt
the. taxpayer, but might even
run a lot Of them out Of the
city.
The only other alternative,
then, is to lobby through Con-
gress a substantial increase in
the annual Federal payment
toward the municipal costs OF
the Nations capital
This, though, is one OF the
most diffcult tricks In politics,
for voting against the Federal
payment is one Of the cheap
est ways o lawmaker can per-
suade his constituents back
home that he Is for economy
without voting for economy
In q national measure that
might lose him votes.
2 ~ "a - ~.