Evening star., 1960-10-13
A Misconception


the District. your contribut-
ing writer. George w. Cakes,
responsible for the article in
Sundays Star on the subject
~. S. Pays Teachers Now"
should know better than to
say: "All teachers in the Dis
trict of Columbia public
schools have received their
salaries from the Federal
Government by annual act
Of Congress since the estab-
lishment Of the D. C. school
system"
He further Celebrates:
Ever since the establish
ment of the D. C. school syS-
tenn Congress has not only
set the amounts of teachers
salaries but also established
the pay scale. Approximate
ly So per cent of the current
$50-million appropriation for
D. c. schools goes to pay
teachers salaries"
Because revenues from Dis
trict of Columbia taxes of
all kinds-real estate, sales,
personal property. license
fees. etc.-are paid into the
Federal Treasury, there is a
widespread miSconception
that the Federal Government
supports the District; the
District budget then seems
to be a Federal expenditure.
For this reason, the Fedora
ton of Citizens Associations
has for years urged that Dis
trict funds be kept separate
from Federal funds.
The Federal appropriation
Of $25 million (short of the
congreSsionally authorized
$32 million does not cover
loss of real estate taxes on
Federally-owned and foreign
government owned property
in the District and District
services to the Federal Gov
ernment (fire protection,
street improvements, street
sanitation, upkeep of the
National Zoo, etc.. It falls
far short of the $50 million
appropriation" for D. C..
schools of which Mr.. Oakes
writes!
True. the District does
share with the States in some
Federal appropriations. such
as the vocational training
program that Mr.. OakeS
mentions and the National
Science Foundation grants,
but it does not qualify for
aid as a region whose schools
are overcrowded because of
an influx of Federal civilian
workers or military personnel.
1t was not included in this
legislation.
Because it legislates for the
District. the Congress does
set the D. c. salary scale for
city employees and teachers,
police, and firemen, the first
in accordance with pay scales
for classified employees and
the special categories sepa-
rately upon consideration of
recommendation by the Com
misSioners, the departments
concerned, and the public.
Likewise, it passes upon the
Districts budget, but also
after recommendations by
the Commissioners and their
department heads and a
hearing affording citizens a
chance to express their views,
What Mr.. Oakes has ig-
nored is that budgets of Fed
eral departments and agen-
cies are financed by the
various taxes collected on a
national basis, while the
District budget is based on
revenues from taxes levied
locally plus the relatively
small Federal payment.
1t is unfortunate that the
misstatement was not caught
before its publication, since
corrections and retractions
never receive the same atten'
tionn as do original articles
Mrs. Edward B. Morris,
Secretary, D. C. Federation
of Citizens Associations.
Editors note: Mr.. OakeS'
point was that the money
for teachers salaries in the
District must be appropriated
annually by the Congress
That is true. 1t is equally
true that most of the money
comes from funds raised by
District taxes, but Mr.. OakeS
was talking only about the
element of control in dispos'
ing of the money, not where
it comes fromD