Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1962-12-27
s9oo-Pupil
Program to
Continue

freshman School Board
members Monday offered in
dividual assurances that they
have no intention of elirni-
mating the 8,900-student kim
dergarten program from the
school system next year.
The quartet - Charles Bell.
William E. Coyle, William [
Saunders and Everett Wood.
ward - emphatically rejected
any suggestion that the free
program for prefirst grade chill.
dren will be eliminated.
The position of the four.
coupled with the known posi.
tiOn Of the three hoId-over
Board members, clearly indi.
Gates that the program viii be
around when the new fiscal
year begins.
The possibility that the pro.
gram might be dropped appear
ed Friday when School Supt. c.
Taylor Whittier released a list
of 80 items which, If cut by the
Board, would amount to a IS
million reduction sought by the
four new members of the Board.
The list submitted to the
Board would totally eliminate
10 divisions of the budget as
originally proposed by DR.. Whit.
tier including kindergartens.
Eight others would be cdrtailed
by so to 100 per cent and four
others would be cut IS to 80 per
cent.
Adoption Of the SO items
and programs also would cut
$844,889 In income - prin.
clpally provided by the state
to subsidize various activi.
ties-frOm the revenue anti
cipated by budget officials.
The list as presented would
represent a nine per cent de-
crease in salary items by elm
mating GIT positions and an
eight per cent decrease In non
salary items from the recon-
mended budget.
Release of the list, which put
kindergartens next to last on
the priority roster, touched off
a controversy which tends to
draw battle lines between DR..
Whittier and the new board and
between the new board and the
hold-overs.
Charges by Bell that DR.. Whit
tiers list of possible cuts was a
.Spublic relations document" de-
signed to "irritate the public"
brought forth a statement by
the hold-over board members
defending the superintendent.
Bells public charge against
DR.. Whittier "is wholly unwar.
ranted," according to the state.
ment issued by board members
DR.. Clifford Beck, Mrs. Lucy
Kicker and Mrs. Lucille Maurer.
They said the order to DR..
Whittier to find the S. million
reduction Is IAN invasion of
Board responsibility :"
1T Is now time for the seven
elected members to proceed as
a Board to give careful scrutiny
to the documents before us as
we address ourselves to our
common concern - an appro-
pirate budget for the education
of Montgomery County chill
dren," the statement said.
Bell, Coyle, Saunders and
Woodward were emphatic in
their rejection of any plan to
cut kindergarten from the sys.
tenn.
II can assure you the kim
dergarten program will not be
removed from the budget"
President Bell said.
II want to emphasize that I
do not support any removal Of
the program" Saunders said.
u strongly oppose its removal"
Coyle said, I'VE have no in
tention of eliminating the pro-
gram as far as l am con-
cerned."
Woodward said that 80 far
as I am concerned, / had not
contemplated elimination Of the
kindergarten program"
The four offered no definite
plan Of their own TO reduce
the budget.
There is no specific area /
can pinpont as of now that I
would endorse removing" Saun-
ders said. Il do feel there are