Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1958-04-03
Schools Main office
Obsolete, OUercrOaUded


meetings, bid openings, recep-
tons, etc.
Rest room facilities are at a
premium for the 10 employees
and the hundreds of daily visi.
tors, Lines form to the right
and down the hall throughout the
day.
But for a picture Of sheer con-
fusion, the visitor must travel the
one-way traffic connecting hall
to the gym building.
Here on 5000 square feet in a
hodge-podge of partitions and file
cabinets are housed the textbook
and professional library of over
5000 volumes, the departments of
adult education, Industrial arts,
testing program and audio-visual;
the director of educational serv-
ices and his secretary; the direc-
tor of secondary education and
his secretary; 16 elementary SUI
pervisors, 10 secondary super
visors, their three secretaries and
two part time clerks, and the
textbook reader.
Climbing the rickety stairs to
the stage which hides the audio-
visual library, office and screen
ing room, the visitor can look out
over the 19-foot ceillnged room
for the full effect.
The library, adult education
and industrial arts bulge the
seams. The cubby-holes of the
two directors are piled high with
materials and files.
Out in the open space i'm the
center, the desks of the super
visOrs and their secretaries are
lined up touching each other. The
two file cabinets assigned to each
are used i'm a futile attempt to
achieve privacy.
Most conferences take place in
the open with the persons at the
desks in front and back trying to
close their ears to the personal
interviews with new teachers or
teachers with problems going on
at their elbow.
In addition to the lack of pri-
vacy and storage space, the gym
is a difficult place in which to
control temperatures. In the win
ter its occupants are either hot
or cold rarely warm.
The gym is the best example
of Overcrowding but throughout
the building there are other in
stances.
The construction department
which handles every detail of the
multi-million dollar building pro-
gram is housed in 720 square feet,
the allotment for six permanent
staff members and headquarters
for eight building inspectors. In
this space is crammed also the
blue prints of all schools built
in the last IS years.
Another 720 square feet goes
to the personnel division which
does the hiring, firing and record
keeping of the county's $500
teachers.
The payroll division has 500
square feet; comptroller's office
with all of its ponderous IBM
machines and II people has 1000
square feet; sites and planning,
$50; transportation, 600; cafete-
ria, $50; maintenance, 600; ele-
mentary division, $50; and in one
big room at the far corner of
the gym basement are art, music,
physical education and home
arts departments in 700 square
feet.
1t Is true that IL Lincoln Jun.
Tor High is closed next year the
transportation, cafeteria and
maintenance departments will
move to that building.
But before the present staff
can stretch for breathing space,
their numbers will be increased
by the additional staff needed to
administer and supervise the 5000
increased enrolment next year
and the Is additions and new
schools in this years budget. And
the following year there will be
80 new projects and still another
5000 children.
Even If the S150.000 for site
and plans which to date has been
cut out by the county manager
from the budget is restored, con-
struction of a new building is not
planned until 1860.
The earliest estimation of re-
lief is 1868. To the board of edu-
cation people this means another
five years of conditions that are
extremely difficult to operate I'M