Act funds for modernization of obsolete equipment have been almost impossible to acquire.

The school administrative staff is housed in eight different schoolbuildings including the Franklin Administration Building at 13th and K Streets NW. No business organization would tolerate for one moment the inefficiency that results from the dispersion of offices and the failure to provide minimal adequate equipment and staffing for the operation of an organization that spends more than $100 million a year in activities of unbelievable range, scope, and complexity.

In terms of school service, space inadequacies seriously curtail the operation of programs even with existing funds so that expansion of needed services is handicapped by a lack of school facilities."

In summary, if Congress approves the current capital outlay request for schools of $32.9 million, the backlog of construction needs will be partially eliminated.

If any single item is deleted for lack of funds, to that extent overcrowding by today's service standards will continue.

Even with the complete approval of the President's capital outlay request, $32.9 millions reduced from the Board of Education's request of more than $50 million, many projects will still need attention. particularly the occupational, vocational, technical school, the community and 4-year public colleges, and a new school administration building.

To achieve a moderately modern school system, capital outlay expenditures must be at the rate of $50 million annually for a period of 5 years. Revenue backing for today's capital budget is, therefore, highly essential particularly in view of the still critical unmet needs. The CHAIRMAN. What is your school population today?

Dr. HANSEN. 146,000.

The CHAIRMAN. Approximately 10 years ago there were approximately 100,000?

Dr. HANSEN. I think so.

The CHAIRMAN. I think the testimony today was 100,000 and then 146,000, somewhere in that range.

Dr. HANSEN. That is approximately right.

The CHAIRMAN. At the same time the population of the District of Columbia has remained almost static. You have an increase of 46,000 in your schools. That indicates one of the real areas of the problem.

What is the percentage of the tax dollar that goes to the schools in one form or another? Is it one-third?

Dr. HANSEN. It is estimated at 25 to 26 percent this year. Let us check for the accuracy of this amount.

The CHAIRMAN. I notice for example in Montgomery County that on the real property tax approximately 65 percent of it goes to the schools. I am speaking only of the real property tax.

Dr. HANSEN. It would be very difficult, I would think, to make an evaluation in terms of types of taxes because in the District the taxes are not earmarked for schools. Do we have a report on the actual percentage?

Dr. CARROLL. We received 25.5 percent of the total District's 1966 appropriations. This includes both operating and capital.

In the 1967 proposed budget we would receive 27.2 percent. The CHAIRMAN. So it runs roughly one-fourth of total revenue?

Dr. CARROLL. That is correct.

The CHAIRMAN. You may proceed, Dr. Hansen.

SERVICE SHORTAGES

Dr. HANSEN. School space and school services are interdependent, although school services form the significant portion of formal education.

The objective is to provide for the maximum self-fulfillment of each child, with no effort spared to accomplish this purpose no matter how complex the educational-social-cultural problems may be.

School services to be effective must, therefore, contribute to the educability of the child.

Educability is here defined as the capacity for response to school instruction.

Educability is reduced to the zero point in cases like the following: 1. The 15-year-old junior high school girl who was unable to learn left school as soon as she could. The school social worker found two older sisters in the girl's home each with four illegitimate children under school age. At the time of the visit, the girl's mother was in jail for the illegal sale of whiskey.

2. The girl who left home for 3 days slept in vestibules of rooming houses, with no one at home who cared.

3. The girl whose mother sent her to live with a so-called godfather. The girl is now pregnant.

4. The girl who comes to school sleepy, upset, hostile because she spends most of the night observing while her mother plies her trade as a prostitute.

5. The girl whose mother could not come to school with her because the two had only one pair of shoes between them.

6. The family of five children whose mother, able to buy only one pair of shoes, bought a pair for the largest child so they could be worn in rotation by the smaller children.

The foregoing examples illustrate the adverse effect of social, economic, and psychological factors upon the pupil's ability to respond to school instruction. The variety and degree of such factors is so great that schools must ultimately be staffed to render every conceivable service which will make instruction effective.

The current budget proposals provide for some small degree of improvement in service. Unfortunately most of the new funds simply meet increases in workload resulting from enrollment growth and cost increases.

The total proposed 1967 increase for operation of school services is $7,254,542; of this amount, $5,042,567 is for increased workload and only $2,211,975 for improved or new services. Roughly then only 27 percent of the increase requested is for school improvement. In relation to the total operating budget requested-$82.6 million-only 2 percent is for improvement in services.

The reasons for making this point here are (1) to indicate how literally unprogressive in terms of improvements the 1967 budget estimates are and (2) how deplorable it would be to lose even a dollar's worth of improvements in services because of deficiencies in revenues. The unassailable fact is that in the light of the needs of Washington's children the present funding of education here condemns many children to a lifetime of social, cultural, and economic serivtude.

Regular Teachers

In accordance with current Board of Education class size standards, the proposed budget will be adequate. But the prevailing standards results in the following:

1. In the elementary schools 1,297-50.8 percent classes exceeding 30 in size in which 43,391-56.2 percent children are being taught. 2. In the junior high schools 4,585-76.7 percent-academic classes above 25 in size in which 156,121-85.5 percent-pupil-hours of instruction take place daily.

3. In the senior high schools 2,616-76.7 percent-academic classes above 25 in size in which 89,272-84.9 percent-pupil-hours of instruction take place daily.

Clearly any cutback in this service, already inadequate, would be disastrous. Candor requires the observation, however, that cutbacks because of revenue shortage are not likely to hit the staffing of regular classes.

Special Teachers

The cutbacks are more likely to be applied to elementary and secondary teaching positions in art, science, health and physical education, mathematics, foreign languages, and music. It is reasonable to believe that a fund shortage is likely to produce a reduction in the 322 positions in these categories requested by the Board of Education. The current budget estimates call for 66 teaching positions for citywide choral, music, speech, reading, curriculum, and special assignments. These can hardly be considered luxury items, yet they certainly are certain to be reduced if funds are inadequate.

For expansion of summer school, 83 positions have been requested. Since summer school funding for advanced offerings has fared badly in the past, it is sure to suffer unless money for a balanced budget is available.

Money is requested for 24 additional librarians. Will a cut be made here if revenue is short?

Counseling Services

The budget calls for 84 counselors for elementary and secondary schools. How much of this critical service can be eliminated without harming children?

Sixty special service personnel-psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers-have been requested. A reduction in this essential staffing is inevitable unless money can be found to support the program.

Supervision and Instruction

The 32 assistant principals needed for improved service to pupils at the elementary and secondary levels will be reduced, in all likelihood, if money is lacking for the total budget.

Supervisors essential to the improvement of curriculum and instruction, in the current budget a modest request for only 13 such staff, will also be subject to curtailment.

Clerical Service

Altogether 60 additional clerical positions are asked for to serve in schools and in the offices of department heads.

It has been difficult to establish the point that clerks are needed, not to make work easier for teachers and officers, but to make it possible to use their time and talents for their professional duties and thus enhance their service to children. Thus, requests for clerks usually feel the first effect on money shortage and thus are reduced or eliminated.

Instructional Supplies

Additional requests for supplies and texts have been funded in recent years. This is also the case for library books where grants are made proportionate to the new allocations for librarians.

Equipment

More $68,000 is requested for business education, audiovisual, speech, and reading equipment. A small request to begin with, this is likely to be reduced if funding is inadequate.

District of Columbia Teachers College

The increase requested for the Teachers College is small ($68,681) and distributed widely over items such as evening teaching service, custodial and clerical service, teaching materials, library materials, and laboratory equipment. Deductible amounts of significant-of significance would be hard to select.

OPERATIONS OF BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS AND MAINTENANCE OF EQUIPMENT

In this activity an increase of $420,869 is requested.

About a third of this amount covers annualization and is hence not subject to reduction. The remainder is distributed to cover custodial supplies, fuel, and other services for new buildings, furniture and equipment repair, and the only category subject to reduction of significance, and transportation services mainly for handicapped children. Any major reduction in the overall activity is almost impossible without cutting essential services.

Repairs and Maintenance of Buildings and Grounds

In this activity the increase requested is $762,500. A backlog of more than $5 million in repairs is expected at the end of fiscal year 1966. Most of this amount, $4.2 million, applies to painting maintenance. The present painting cycle is from 10 to 12 years. The additional funding in fiscal year 1966 plus that requested for fiscal year 1967 will establish an eventual cycle of 5 to 6 years.

While it is often the practice to defer repairs and maintenance funds on the theory that 1 more year of bad maintenance will not hurt, the fact is that maintenance lag has now created slum-type conditions many Washington school buildings and has added to the ultimate

in

cost of renovation because of plant deterioration accelerated by improper maintenance.

It is quite likely that a deficiency in revenue will result in continued deficiency in building maintenance that directly reduces the efficiency of education. Neglected school buildings mean neglected children.

Retirement

An additional $421,000 is requested for teacher retirement. Generally requests in this category are actuarially mandatory and cannot properly absorb a porportionate share of funding deficiency.

School Lunch Program

This activity is to be increased by $196,520 to supply additional free lunches to needy children. Fortunately this item is spared the application of reductions.

National Defense Education Program

A total of $253,556 increase is requested to be matched by a Federal grant increase of $256,992. The requested funds will supply equipment and staff for improvements of instructional services in science, mathematics, foreign languages, history, reading, and English, as well as improvements in guidance and statistical services.

Budget history has shown that requests in the NDEA activity are vulnerable even though they are matched dollar by dollar in Federal funds.

Under any circumstances, it is painful to see reductions in the basic programs supported by NDEA funds, but the suffering reaches the acute stage when an equal amount of Federal entitlement is also lost

SUMMARY

What in an operation increase of $7.2 million is the capacity of the school budget to absorb any part of a $25 million funding deficit? In the circumscribed range of reduction possibilities, the losses will clearly impair the educational program. The need for an adequate revenue structure is urgent if even the limited current budget is to be supported.

CAPITAL OUTLAY

The Board of Education asked for $53.9 million for capital outlay. The Commissioners approved $32.9 million. For fiscal year 1966 Congress authorized an expenditure of $17.5 million.

The current request will authorize 37 construction projects which, with two exceptions, supply critically needed seating space as well as modernization or replacement of inadequate buildings.

The two exceptions are the Spingarn Stadium, $40,000 and an addition to the warehouse, $37,000.

Cuts made mandatory by a revenue shortage will clearly strike at needed classroom space. They will perpetuate the use of a number of obsolete and unsatisfactory school buildings. Unless the capital outlay requests are funded in full, children will suffer an educational shortage that will be permanent upon them. The impact will be