Evening star., 1960-02-12
Mrs. Sheldon
Sees Pattern
In Migration
By ANDREW w. BINGHAM
Star Stad Writer

dCGSLludIlCe OIlCeT.
Mrs Alice c. Sheldon wrote
in a memorandum to Supt.
Carl F. Hansen earlier this
month that:
/. Hundreds of these young
Sters-mainly from the South
have come to the District
specifically to take advantage
of the superior public education
system. Such migration is in
creasing. she said, and is be-
coming "a developing pattern
in this city,"
2. Stricter legislation is
needed to insure that only bona
fide District residents can get
a free education here, and to
force non-residents back to
their real homes.
The existence of this memo
randum, dated February /, had
become known earlier this
week. DR.. Hansen refused to
give it to reporters, however,
until School Board Member
Wesley S. Williams criticized
some portions of it at a board
committee meeting yesterday
afternoon and insisted that it
be made public.
Care Factor
Under existing law, no tu-
ition has to be paid for a nom
resident pupil if he or she has
come to the District primarily
for care and custody, and not
an education.
The local guardian can simply
claim he is providing full sup
port for the child and not make
any payment. Mrs. Sheldon
noted in her memorandum. 1T
is impossible to disprove such
claims" she said.
Last fall both the superin-
tendent and Commissioner
Robert E. Mclaughlin urged a
House District subcommittee
not to enact legislation to
tighten residency requirements.
They talked about "the hu-
manitarian point Of view"
noting that many of the tech
nically nonresident youngsters
here actually have nowhere
else to go. The friends or rela-
tives caring for them, they
maintained, should not be re-
quired to pay any tuition.
Another Viewpoint
In her memorandum, Mrs.
Sheldon takes what she calls
the humane" viewpoint. Tough
residential requirements, she
said, would force the young
sters to go back home. And
their welfare lis served best
in (theiD own family units re-
gardlesS of economic condi-
tions."
Friends or relatives here can
do the most good not by caring
for the child, but rather by
giving financial assistance. This
is more desirable and more
humane than removing a child
from his family circle even
though such a move affords the
child a superior educational op-
portunity in the District of Co.
lumbia," she wrote.
Mrs. Sheldon told The Star
today that virtually none of the
nonresident youngsters here
lacks a real home, run by one
or both parents, somewhere
else.
If the parents cannot support
the child at home, she said, the
local Department of Public
Welfare should become respon.
sible for solving the problem,
and not the District public
schools.
Despite the opposition of
both school and District Off
cials, the House passed earlier
this week the measure spon-
sored by Representative Broy-
hill, Republican Of Virginia, to
require tuition payments from
all nonresident pupils not liv-
ing with parents or legal
guardians.
NO Senate Action
The Senate has taken no ac-
ton on the bill.
At the school board commit
tee meeting yesterday, Mr..
took sharp exception
to many of Mrs. Sheldon's
points. He said he did not think
they could be documented. He
also asked whether it was de-
sirable to have children stay
down on the plantation and
Starve" rather than living with
friends or relatives here.
I'm not advocating that
children should be able to come
here and attend school without
belonging here" he added.
In her memorandum she
noted that her Office has re-
,eived information about 1852
non-reSidents since last Sep
5ember. Tuition has been paid
for only las of these; another
97 withdrew when the required
payment could not be made.
The fees for non-residents
are 1922 for elementary school,
1855 for Junior high, 1895 for
senior high, and $549 for voca-
,ional.
About 1000 of those classed
as non-residents are in ele-
nentary school. Another 500
are in junior high, and 400 in
senior high.