Thirteenth division-Continued. Giddings School, 11 session rooms.. Lincoln School, 10 session rooms_. Petworth Addition, 8 session rooms. Burrville Addition, 8 session rooms__ Eighteenth and Monroe Street portables, 8 session rooms. West addition, 8 session rooms... Takoma addition, 8 session rooms_. Total estimate_ 330 300 300 480 270 300 360 240 240 240 240 240 240 40,590 Mr. CRAMTON. Is it due in any part to any increase in the number of principals for which you are asking authorization? Mr. KRAMER. The classes would be the same. If we had, for instance, a hundred classes distributed among 10 principles, the amount would be the same whether there were 10 principals or a dozen. It depends upon the number of classes, not on the number of principals. Mr. DAVIS. It would mean an increase if they had more classes? Mr. KRAMER. Yes, sir. NIGHT SCHOOLS Mr. DAVIS. Your next item is for night schools. You had an appropriation in 1921 of $60,000, and you are asking $80,000 for 1922. Dr. SIMON. Mr. Chairman, my attention is called, in connection with that item, to the fact that the word "clerk" is very likely to lead to embarrassment. Mr. DAVIS. You think the word "clerk" should be inserted in there? Dr. SIMON. There are clerks in some of the schools. Mr. SISSON. Heretofore the item read "For teachers and janitors of night schools," eliminating the words "officers and directors." Dr. SIMON. Perhaps the word "employees " would include them all. Dr. BALLOU. I think it is not appropriate to include clerks, because they are on an annual basis. Mr. SISSON. I think officers and directors are on an annual basis, also. Dr. BALLOU. They are, but we are asking provision to be made whereby officers and directors who have charge of this work may receive additional compensation for the night-school work in which they are employed. Mr. KRAMER. We have the case of a man who puts in a full day's work in his regular employment and who is delegated to do certain work in the night schools. Mr. DAVIS. Is he delegated to teach? Mr. KRAMER. He actually supervises and handles the direction of the night schools. Mr. DAVIS. He acts as a sort of chairman of a meeting? Mr. KRAMER. No; he has an actual responsibility to the superintendent in the handling of the night schools. Mr. BUCHANAN. He does not do any actual teaching? Mr. KRAMER. NO; but he is the actual director. He gives every single school night in the week to that work. Mr. CRAMTON. That is, the director; what about the officers? Mr. KRAMER. This is really a legal technicality. We have teachers who teach in the day schools who get their regular salaries, and they teach in the night schools, for which they get additional pay. Mr. DAVIS. But the officers do not teach. Mr. KRAMER. If you are going to run any system of night schools you have to have somebody in charge. Mr. CRAMTON. That is, the director? Mr. KRAMER. That is, the director. Mr. CRAMTON. What is the officer; what is his function? Mr. KRAMER. Nothing other than a director; it is simply a question of phraseology. Mr. SISSON. I am afraid you would be adding to the expense with the addition of "officers and directors." Mr. KRAMER. It only involves two people. We have a supervising principal who does his regular school work in the day who is also in charge of the night schools, but we can not pay him anything for this extra work. Mr. CRAMTON. You say the word "director" covers him. What about the word "officer"? Mr. KRAMER. We do not care particularly about the officer. It is the phraseology which would relate them to the regular school. This only involves two people. Mr. CRAMTON. They would both come under the term "director”? Mr. KRAMER. Yes; unless the auditor would construe that they were officers. Mr. CRAMTON. How large a teaching force would be under either one of the directors, roughly speaking? Mr. KRAMER. I should say possibly a hundred in the colored schools and perhaps 200 in the white schools. Mr. CRAMTON. That is the teaching force? Mr. KRAMER. Yes. Those men are absolutely responsible for the employment of the teachers and for the organization and we have not been able to pay them one penny for their extra work. Mr. CRAMTON. You have a definite need for the word "director" but not for the word "officer"? Mr. KRAMER. Yes. Mr. DAVIS. When do they do this work? Mr. KRAMER. At night. This man I have referred to goes out at night to these schools. Mr. DAVIS. He supervises them? Mr. KRAMER. Yes; and we have not been able to pay him any extra because he is an officer in the day schools. Mr. CRAMTON. He is not a director? Mr. KRAMER. No: the word" officer" is more inclusive than the word "director." He is an officer in the day schools, and because the law says that teachers in the day schools may teach at night but does not say officers in the days schools may be officers at night, we can not pay him a cent for his extra work. Mr. CRAMTON. NOW, as I understand you, you need the word officer" there but do not need the word "director"? Mr. KRAMER. A director is an officer. Dr. LEARNED. Is it true that the director is rather a stationary man and the officer a man who may go from school to school? Mr. KRAMER. No; I think they are synonymous terms in the work of administration, except that the term "officer" is more inclusive than the term "director." I think if one of those words were retained it should be the word "officer." Mr. DAVIS. How much will this increase the pay? Mr. KRAMER. Not more than $1,200. Mr. DAVIS. Three hundred dollars a year? Mr. KRAMER. More nearly $1,200. Mr. DAVIS. What are they getting now? Mr. KRAMER. The man who is doing that work is getting $2,700. He has performed this service in the night schools in addition to his regular daywork for 5 years without compensation for additional work. Mr. CRAMTON. Generally speaking, are the night schools increasing in importance? Mr. KRAMER. Yes; not only that, but they have ceased to be a straight reading and writing proposition as they were in the beginning, where people who actually could not read and write were largely in attendance. But that group in Washington has gradually diminished, and they have taken on the character of people who have had to leave school and go to work and have been confronted with the actual need of further education, and they come back to the night schools to get it. Mr. CRAMTON. To what extent is the work of these night schools duplicated by the work of the community centers? Mr. KRAMER. Not very greatly. Mr. CRAMTON. But it is to some extent? Mr. KRAMER. If you call it some extent, perhaps we do teach French in one and French in the other. Mr. CRAMTON. Does your office give attention to the courses that are given by the community centers! Mr. KRAMER. The superintendent's office does; yes, sir. Mr. CRAMTON. Are you attempting to avoid duplication of that service? Mr. KRAMER. Decidedly so. The things done in the community centers are very largely cultural, while the things done in the night schools are more nearly bread-and-butter subjects. This proposition in regard to pay is only a question of doing justice to not more than three people certainly. Dr. BALLOU. I have a statement about the night schools, Mr. Chairman, which I would like to present to the committee. Mr. CRAMTON. Does that give information as to the subjects or courses available in the night schools? Dr. BALLOU. Except in a general way. An increase in the night-school appropriation for the year 1921-22 from $60,000 to $80,000 is respectfully urged for the following reasons: First, the normal increase in enrollment will render it necessary to put at least two night schools on a two-shift basis of three nights each instead of on a single three-night shift. Second. The development of high school "credit" classes will involve additional expenditures for instructors and will make it necessary to have a night-school year of approximately the same length as the day-school year. Third. The standardization of the night-school courses will necessarily result in additional classes and teachers. Fourth. The extension of the work offered to meet demands will require several additional teachers. Fifth. The revised salary schedule will give an automatic increase in salary to many of the teachers now in the service. Sixth. The total enrollment will surely reach 15,000 pupils in all. Seventh. The vocational classes are arousing such interest that a three hour per night schedule may have to replace the present two hour per night one. Mr. DAVIS. I see you ask for $20,000 additional for the night schools. Is that all to be paid to the officers and directors for their work? I thought there were only two directors or officers to be provided for. Mr. KRAMER. We want to run the night schools until the end of the year. Dr. BALLOU. You will notice that there has been a deficiency granted for this item for several years. We are asking for $80,000 because we believe it will be better business to proceed from the beginning of the year with the knowledge that these schools can be operated through as large a part of the year as we desire or think that they should be operated. The cost of $80,000 will be no more next year than to operate them just as they are being operated now. Mr. CRAMTON. You are going to ask for a deficiency this year? Dr. BALLOU. We have already estimated for that. Mr. DAVIS. How much? Dr. BALLOU. I can not say offhand. But we can put those figures in the record. (The statement referred to is as follows:) Deficiency for night schools, 1921. For teachers and janitors of night schools, including teachers of indus- $25,000 1,000 CONTINGENT EXPENSES. you Mr. DAVIS. "For contingent and other necessary expenses ask for $1,000 additional. Why do you need that? In 1920 you had $4,000 and you asked for a deficiency of $1,000, making a total of $5.000. Now you are asking for $6,000. Mr. KRAMER. That is because of the cost of the increased courses and increased activities of the school, in addition to the increased cost of materials, which means a good deal of money. For instance, in the Business Night High School we had the largest schools in the city last year. We had over 3,000 pupils in that one school six nights in the week in two shifts, and we have been endeavoring to get money enough out of that fund to buy certain computing machines to teach certain computing courses. If we get this additional appropriation. we can probably make a start on that equipment. |