OPERATIONS OF THE OFFICE OF EDUCATION THURSDAY, JUNE 29, 1967 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS, Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met at 10:10 a.m. in room B-374, Rayburn House Office Building, the Honorable L. H. Fountain (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Representatives Florence P. Dwyer and Robert Dole. Staff members present: James Naughton, subcommittee counsel; Thomas Smith, minority staff; and Delphis Goldberg, professional staff member. Mr. FOUNTAIN. Let the committee come to order and the record show that a quorum is present. Under the rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Government Operations has responsibility for studying the operation of Government activities at all levels with respect to economy and efficiency. That responsibility, insofar as it relates to the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and certain other departments and agencies, has been delegated by the committee to its Intergovernmental Relations Subcommittee. During the past few years, funds expended for activities administered by the U.S. Office of Education have increased tremendously. The increased amounts being spent by the Office of Education consist, to a considerable degree, of funds made available for grants to State and local educational agencies, to educational institutions, and— in some cases-to other organizations. Our hearing today is for the purpose of examining the manner in which the Office of Education is administering these grant programs, with particular emphasis on grants made to support supplementary educational centers and services under title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Today's hearing will be particularly concerned with the use of title III funds for the purpose of cosponsoring a series of seminars in Hawaii next month and with possible conflict of interest questions. arising in connection with title III grant funds. I might mention that we had originally planned to take some testimony today concerning a conflict of interest question involving a grant application under which a substantial amount of money would go to Westinghouse under a subcontract with a school district in Wisconsin. However, the Commissioner of Education has assured me that no action to approve this application will be taken before August 1 at the earliest. Consequently, it is expected that we will (1) take that matter up at another hearing after the congressional recess instead of discussing it today. Before we begin asking questions, I think it might be helpful if each of our witnesses would identify himself for the record and give a very brief statement of any responsibilities he may have for administering grant programs authorized under title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. We have with us as the lead witness today Dr. Nolan Estes, Associate Commissioner for Elementary and Secondary Education, and along with him is Norman E. Hearn, Acting Assistant Director, Division of Plans and Supplementary Centers, Frederick H. Hundemer, Chief, Elementary and Secondary Section, Contracts Branch, and Aĺbert L. Alford, Assistant Commissioner for Legislation. Dr. ESTES. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and members of the subcommittee. We are delighted to be here today. Let me just briefly introduce these gentlemen and tell what their responsibilities are before we go into our formal responsibilities. To my left, we have Albert L. Alford, who is the Assistant Commissioner for Legislation for the Office of Education. He is a staff officer and assists us in a number of activities with regard to legislation. To my right, we have Mr. Norman Hearn, who is the Acting Assistant Director, Division of Plans and Supplementary Centers. He is responsible for assisting in the administration of title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act as well as title III and title V-A of the NDEA and of the Arts and Humanities Act. Frederick H. Hundemer is to my left and is the Chief of the Contract Section in the Contract Office which is in the Commissioner's Office. He is responsible for the negotiations of all the contracts in our bureau and particularly as relates to this hearing, the contracts relating to title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Mr. FOUNTAIN. Thank you, Doctor. You might submit for our record further details concerning their qualifications, educational background and experience so people who will read it will know the training and experience of these men. (The information was supplied as follows:) BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. NOLAN ESTES, ASSOCIATE COMMISSIONER, BUREAU OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION Dr. Nolan Estes, Associate Commissioner of the Bureau of Elementary and Secondary Education since January 1967, first came to the U.S. Office of Education in 1965 as a Ford fellow Washington intern in education. In April 1966, he became Director of the Division of Plans and Supplementary Centers which administers five Federal assistance programs including the innovative PACE program under title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Six months later, he was appointed Deputy Associate Commissioner of the Bureau of Elementary and Secondary Education and held this position until January. A native of Texas, Dr. Estes was born on June 22, 1930. He was graduated from the University of Corpus Christi with a bachelor of science degree shortly before his 20th birthday, and received his master of education from the University of Texas in 1954. He did graduate work at Baylor University in 1956 and earned the doctor of education degree from Harvard in 1959. He has since done postdoctoral work at Columbia University Teachers College in New York City. The Washington internship followed 3 years in which Dr. Estes was superintendent of schools in Riverview Gardens, Mo. Formerly, from 1959 to 1962, he had been assistant superintendent for instruction in Chattanooga, Tenn. He also served 4 years as principal of Lake Waco School, Waco, Tex., and was an elementary and high school teacher in several Texas school systems. Dr. Estes' other professional experience includes serving as an educational television instructor with the Texas State Department of Education and Baylor University, as a staff member of the center for field studies at the Harvard Graduate School of Education for 1 year, and as a visiting lecturer in education at the University of Chattanooga and the University of Arizona. Dr. Estes served in the U.S. Army from 1951 to 1953, and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious achievement in Korea in 1952. He now lives in McLean, Va., with his wife and four sons. A list follows of Dr. Estes' professional and community affiliations, honors, and recent contributions to educational literature: HONORARY SOCIETIES National Sigma Epsilon. Phi Delta Kappa. Local Iota Chapter, Phi Delta Kappa, Harvard University. St. Louis Suburban Teachers Association, Program Committee-1964. St. Louis Suburban Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Community Teachers Association-Riverview Gardens School District. Area RECENT COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES AND MEMBERSHIPS St. Louis County White House Conference on Education, board member-fall conference planning committee. St. Louis County School Districts AV Corporation Board, president, 1964. St. Louis County Cooperating School Districts, communications committee chairman, 1964. Board of Trustees, St. Louis Educational Television Commission, member, executive committee, 1964. Chattanooga Junior Chamber of Commerce, vice president. Chattanooga Cancer Society, board of directors. Citizens Committee for Better Schools, program planning committee, Chattanooga, Tenn. Parents Council for Perceptually Handicapped Children, adviser, Chattanooga, Tenn. Greater Chattanooga United Fund, vice chairman, 1962. Deacon, superintendent of standards, Sunday school, director of training union, Brainerd Baptist Church, Chattanooga, Tenn. White House Conference on Out-of-School Unemployed Youth, Washington, D.C., May 1961. Advisory board of trustees, Carson-Newman College, Jefferson City, Tenn. HONORS AND AWARDS Recipient of the S. D. Shankland memorial scholarship for advanced study in educational administration awarded by the American Association of School Administrators and Associated Exhibitors, February 1958. Awarded life membership, Texas Congress of Parents & Teachers, 1956. Awarded Bronze Star Medal for Meritorious Achievement in Korea, May 1952. Awarded scholarship for advanced study in educational administration by Harvard Graduate School of Education, 1957–58. Ranked No. 2 among candidates in the 1957-58 administrative career program, Harvard Graduate School of Education. Awarded Outstanding Officer of the Year Award, Chattanooga Junior Chamber of Commerce, Chattanooga, Tenn., 1961–62. Winner of Nation's School of the Year Award, Nation's school competition as superintendent of schools, 1965. Selected as Ford Foundation Washington intern in education, 1965–66. Recipient, Distinguished Alumnus Award, University of Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Tex., 1966. National PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION RESPONSIBILITIES Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, board of directors, 1962; annual conference planning committee, 1963-65. American Association of School Administrators: Program participant, annual convention, 1958, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966. National Education Association, life member. Association for Childhood Education, international. State Member, Texas Elementary School Principals Association, district S, president, 1959. Tennessee State Teacher Education and Professional Standards Commission, member, 1961-62. Tennessee Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, president, 1962. Missouri Association of School Administrators, program participant, 1964. Missouri State Teachers Association, member, 1962 to present. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Math and science teacher and athletic director, Bruni High Schools, Bruni, Tex., 1950-51. Administrative intern, Bureau of Laboratory Schools, University of Texas, Austin, Tex., 1953-54. Elementary teacher, Waco Independent School District, Waco, Tex., 1954–55. Principal, Lake Waco School, Waco Independent School District, Waco, Tex., 1955, 1957, 1958, 1959. Educational television instructor, Texas State Department of Education and Baylor University, Waco, Tex., 1956–57. Staff member, Center for Field Studies, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, Mass., 1957-58. Assistant superintendent for instruction, Chattanooga Public Schools, Chattanooga, Tenn., 1959-62. Visiting lecturer in education, University of Chattanooga, Chattanooga, Tenn., 1960-62. Visiting lecturer in education, University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz., summer, 1962. Superintendent of schools, School District of Riverview Gardens, St. Louis County, Mo., 1962 to 1966 (leave of absence 1965–66). Washington intern in education assigned as special assistant to the Associate Commissioner of Education: Bureau of Elementary and Secondary Education, September 1965 to April 1966. Director, Division of Plans and Supplementary Centers. Bureau of Elementary and Secondary Education, April 1966 to October 1966. Deputy Associate Commissioner. Bureau of Elementary and Secondary Education, October 1966 to January 1967. Associate Commissioner of Education. Bureau of Elementary and Secondary Education, January 1967 to present. MILITARY SERVICE Entertainment and recreation specialist: U.S. Army, June 1951 to June 1953. 7th Armored Division Artillery, Camp Roberts, Calif., 1951-52. Director of special services, 45th Infantry Division Far East Command, Korea, 1952-53. RECENT CONTRIBUTIONS TO EDUCATIONAL LITERATURE Educational Leadership (December 1962): "The Principal and Instruction." Tennessee Elementary Principal (June 1962): "The Nongraded Elementary Schools." The Instructor (April 1963): "The Superintendent's Concern for Curriculum and Instruction in the Elementary Schools." Kansas Elementary School Principal (spring 1963): "The Principal and Instruction." St. Louis Suburban Teacher (March 1964): "New Approach to Recruiting and Retaining Quality Teachers." School and Community, MSTA Journal (March 1964): "Space Age Superintendent." National Education Association Journal (September 1964): "Fringe Benefits for Teachers." Nation's Schools (March 1965): "The Nation's School of the Month." Alabama Elementary Principal (February 1966): "The Elementary Principal and Title III ESEA." Journal of Council for Exceptional Children (March 1966): "Challenge of Title III ESEA." Senior Scholastic (October 1966): "Washington Report" (statement) ed. J. Lloyd. Southern Education Report (November 1966): "Title III, the Tempo of Change" (interview) ed. by Clayton Braddock. Audiovisual Instruction (December 1966): "ESEA: Dimensions '67 of Title III." NEW Journal (December 1966): "Encouragement for Innovation." The Nation's Schools (January 1967): "Report From Washington" (interview). BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF NORMAN E. HEARN Since 1965, Norman E. Hearn has headed the Program Development and Dissemination Branch of the U.S. Office of Education's Division of Plans and Supplementary Centers, where he is responsible for evaluation, development, and dissemination activities for several Federal aid-to-education programs administered by the Bureau of Elementary and Secondary Education. These programs include: Titles II, "School Library Resources" and III, "Supplementary Educational Centers and Services" of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; Titles III: "Instructional Equipment and Materials" and V-A: "Guidance, Counseling, and Testing" of the National Defense Education Act, and section 12: "Instructional Resources" of the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act. As Branch Chief, Mr. Hearn with his staff conducts continuous analysis of these grant programs and provides reporting and communications management services for the Division. He also identifies priority areas for educational development under ESEA title III and designs strategies applicable to major operational problems. Prior to his present assignment, Mr. Hearn served as publications and information officer in charge of the publications program of USOE's Bureau of Educational Assistance Programs. He began his affiliation with the Office of Education in 1962 as a reports officer in the Division of State and Local Schools, where he was responsible for reporting on two Federal assistance programs-NDEA, titles III and V-A. Mr. Hearn entered the education profession as a secondary school teacher in Wayne County, Mich., 1949. Subsequently, he was assistant editor and advertising manager for the "Michigan Education Journal," field director of the Michigan Education Association, and assistant to the director of the press and radio relations division of the National Education Association. A doctoral candidate at George Washington University, Mr. Hearn earned a bachelor's degree in American history and a master of arts degree in school administration at the University of Michigan. He has served as assistant professor at the George Washington College of General Studies and as an instructor at the U.S. Department of Agricultural Graduate School. A member of the National School Public Relations Association, the Educational Press Association, and Phi Delta Kappa, Mr. Hearn with his wife and three children lives in Bethesda, Md. |