vided out of the "Repairs and improvements to school buildings appropriation." In 1934 it was ruled that these lamps and fuses must be charged to the "Contingent expenses appropriation," and although purchase has been made in accordance with this ruling, it has been made at the expense of other allotments in the appropriation which was not increased in the total to provide specifically for this purpose. Materials for cleaning buildings.-This request of $1,000 is needed to bring the allotment for this purpose up to $12,500. This increase is necessary because of new buildings which have come into use during the past year, including the Young School addition, the Deal Junior High School addition, the Armstrong High School gymnasium, the Anacostia Senior High School addition, and the Hardy School addition as well as the new buildings which will come into use in 1939 and will require cleaning materials. These buildings which are now under construction include the Lafayette School addition, the Truesdell School addition, the Grimke School addition, the Cleveland School addition, the Shepherd School addition, the Dennison Vocational School, the Paul Junior High School addition, and the Eastern High School addition. The following materials used for cleaning purposes are charged to this appropriation and have increased in price during the past year as shown below: Disinfectant. 1937 price $0.61 per gallon. $8.60 per 100 pounds. Last price paid $0.63 per gallon. $0.027 per pound. $0.55 per piece. Office materials and contingencies.-$1,000 is requested for this purpose to bring the allotment up to $14,000; $12,983 has already been expended to date for this purpose, and the additional amount is requested for 1939 because of increased prices in office materials which have been experienced by the public schools during the past year. The statement of price increases shown under the "Textbooks and supplies appropriation" likewise applies to this allotment because many of the materials which are charged to this appropriation are the same as those purchased for pupil consumption and which are charged to the "Textbooks and supplies appropriation." Repair and replacement of typewriters.-This request is one of the most urgent in the contingent expenses appropriation; $2,000 is requested to bring the allotment for this purpose up to $16,000. During 1937, $16,447 was actually expended for this purpose, and during the present fiscal year $12,495.67 has been expended to date, of which $3,059.92 was for repairs and $9,435.75 was for replacement of 173 old typewriters. It is estimated that not less than $3,500 will be necessary for the repair and replacement of typewriters during the remaining portion of the fiscal year. At the present time there are approximately 1,500 typewriters in the public schools which are over 5 years old, some of which have been in use as long as from 8 to 12 years and are in such poor mechanical condition that it is no longer economical to repair them. Many of the schools where a large number of typewriters are in use, such as Cardozo High School, Central High School, Hine Junior High School, McKinley High School, and Roosevelt High School, have night schools as well as day schools, thus increasing greatly the wear on these machines. This request will permit the replacement of approximately 225 typewriters annually during the next 5 or 6 years, and thus retire from use many old machines that are no longer serviceable. No typewriters are replaced until the Procurement Division has reported that the machines can no longer be repaired to the advantage of the public schools. At the present time these old typewriters are in such poor mechanical condition and require such a large number of repairs that instruction in the typewriting classes is often seriously impaired because of their failure to operate properly. Phelps Trade School. This item of $2,400 is submitted to continue the equipping of the Phelps Vocational School for Boys. The Board of Education in the estimates for the year ending June 30, 1934, submitted to the Commissioners of the District of Columbia an equipment item for the Phelps Vocational School totaling $60,000, the amount necessary to equip the entire structure. The Bureau of the Budget reduced this figure to $45,000. Congress finally approved $40,000. In other words, the original appropriation for the equipping of the Phelps Vocational School was $20,000 less than the original estimate. At the time of the passage of the appropriations bill for the 1934 fiscal year carrying the provision for $40,000 for equipping the Phelps Vocational School, it was believed that the prices of equipment were sufficiently low to make it possible to complete the equipping of this building at the reduced figure. However, very soon after the passage of the bill, prices for equipment began to rise, and have continued steadily to rise since that time, in some instances amounting to as much as 50 percent, thus making it impossible to completely equip the Phelps Vocational School with the $40,000 appropriated. The Board of Education, in connection with the hearings on the Appropriations Act for the support of the District of Columbia for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1937, requested an additional $20,000 to complete the equipment of the Phelps Vocational Sdhool. Congress approved $5,000 for this purpose. In submitting the estimates for the 1938 appropriations bill the Board of Education requested an additional sum of $14,800 to complete the equipment of the Phelps Vocational School. Congress appropriated $10,000, leaving a balance of $4,800 for the equipping of the following shops: Tailoring, $2,910; shoe repairing, $900; wood shop, $685; paint shop, $240; and general shop, $65. The $2,400 requested now will make it possible to purchase half of this equipment and money for the remaining portion will be requested in 1940. FURNITURE AND EQUIPMENT, CENTRAL, M'KINLEY, AND armstrong HIGH SCHOOLS $5,400 for the Central High School.—$3,800 is requested to replace 10 woodworking lathes in the wood shop at an estimated cost of $380 each. These lathes have been in service for over 20 years and are in such bad condition that they cannot be repaired to the advantage of the public schools any longer; $1,600 is requested to replace 200 drawing boards, T-squares, and triangles in the mechanical drawing room. This equipment has been in use for over 20 years and has outlived its usefulness, some of the drawing boards being so filled with thumbtack holes that they are absolutely useless. $4,600 for the McKinley High School.-$1,025 is requested for the purchase of a new paper-cutting machine at the McKinley High School to replace the one now in use in the print shop, which was transferred from the old technical high school at Seventh Street and Rhode Island Avenue NW., when the new McKinley High School was constructed. This machine has outlived its usefulness and requires constant repairs to keep it in use, and due to its construction cannot be adequately guarded to safeguard the pupils in the print shop from all danger while using the machine; $2,800 is requested for the replacement of a milling machine which was reconditioned and equipped with a new motor when it was transferred from the old technical high school at Seventh Street and Rhode Island Avenue NW. to the new McKinley High School. This machine is used constantly in both the day and evening schools and the instruction given in phases of indexing and offsetting is an essential part of the course of study in the machine shop. This machine has outlived its usefulness and cannot be economically repaired to place it in satisfactory working condition. The sum of $775 is requested for the purchase of electrical testing and measuring instruments, 2 bench lathes, and 12 armature stands for the electrical shop which requires this additional equipment to permit adequate instruction for pupils in the electricity classes. $10,000 for the Armstrong High School.-$10,000 is requested to replace all of the equipment in the foods laboratory, clothing, laboratory, home-management room, wood shop, and automobile shop at the Armstrong High School, and replace onehalf of the equipment in the machine shop and print shop. It is estimated that $26,000 will be needed to replace all of the equipment which is no longer serviceable in the manual training and home economics departments at the Armstrong High School, but the remaining amount, approximately $16,000, will be requested next year since it is planned to replace that portion of the equipment which is in the worse condition during the coming fiscal year if the amount requested is allowed. Much of the equipment in the manual training department is from 30 to 35 years old and a large portion of it was transferred from other schools or Government departments many years ago. Much of the equipment is not only in need of replacement because it is worn out but also because it is obsolete, and in the 44136-38-3 case of the shops, no longer used in industrial establishments. Manufacturing machinery and tools have changed to such an extent during the past 30 years that it is utterly impossible to teach trade work in the shops at the Armstrong High School with the present equipment. In addition, many of the machines, particularly the lathes in the machine shop, are so constructed that they cannot be adequately guarded to prevent injuries and, consequently, it is not safe to allow pupils near the machines while they are being operated. Many of the drives from the motors are old-fashioned belt drives, fully exposed, with no protection whatsoever to the operator. The equipment in both the home economics and manual training departments is used by both the day-school and night-school classes and is in such bad condition that satisfactory results can no longer be obtained. All of the new furniture and machinery to be purchased for the Armstrong High School is based upon standard approved equipment now being purchased for other shops and home-economics laboratories in other schools. This request will permit the purchase of equipment to provide the same facilities at the Armstrong High School that are available in other senior high schools where the same courses are offered. FURNITURE AND EQUIPMENT Page 28, line 9, change "$82, 415" to "$325,000". Page 28, line 8, after the word "assembly-gymnasium;" insert "Eastern High School;" and after "Lenox Vocational School," insert "junior high school on Banneker Recreation Center; senior high school at Fifth and Sheridan Streets Northwest;" The above deduction of $242,585 by the House of Representatives, eliminated or reduced the following items: Eliminations: Eastern High School (printer's error, apparently) money included. $61, 510 179, 775 400 900 Reductions: Bundy School, 8-room addition and assembly-gymnasium.. Total. 242, 585 Eastern High School. The original estimate considered by the Subcommittee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives carried an appropriation of $8,200 to complete the equipment of certain shops at the Eastern High School in order to provide additional shop facilities to care for increased enrollment in this school, which increased enrollment can be accommodated with the additions now being constructed consisting of a gymnasium and 13 additional classrooms. The estimate of $8,200 for this puropse is included in the $82,415 allowed by the House. The school officials have been advised by the budget officer of the District that the name of the Eastern High School was inadvertently omitted by the printer. The inclusion of $8,200 in the bill makes it obvious that the House intended that this appropriation for equipment at the Eastern High School should be included. Accordingly, it is respectfully recommended that the words "Eastern High School" be included as indicated above in the language authorizing appropriations for furniture and equipment. Junior high school on Banneker Recreation Center.-The equipment for the Banneker Junior High School is requested, as the estimated date of completion for this building is April 1, 1939. It should also be noted that many of the items purchased for buildings are combined in one contract, which results in cost reduction. Senior high school at Fifth and Sheridan Streets NW. (Calvin Coolidge High School). The appropriation for the furniture and equipment for the Calvin Coolidge High School is requested, based on the following facts: The estimated date for the completion of this building is September 1, 1939. It requires at least 1 year to prepare the necessary specifications, obtain bids, award contracts, and provide sufficient time for manufacturing and installation. Contractors require from 3 to 6 months' time on many items. A reasonable length of time to execute a contract enables the contractor to anticipate manufacturing requirements and avoid rush periods of employment. Bundy School, addition.-The restoration of $400, reduced from the regular classroom item for this addition, is requested based on actual cost experience. Lenox Vocational School.-The restoration of $900, reduced from the regular classroom item for the Lenox Vocational School, is requested based on actual cost experience. The cost of pupils' desks and chairs purchased is submitted. The type of equipment purchased is approved by the Board of Education and provides correct posture and eye conservation features. The finish on this equipment is subject to a rigid performance test to provide a long period of service and eliminate an expensive maintenance cost. The general opinion that a reduction in equipment costs will be experienced is not in accordance with actual facts. Many equipment items are purchased through the Procurement Division of the Federal Government. The equipment items are on a yearly contract basis and the present contracts cover the year from January 1, 1938, to December 31, 1938. The cost of equipment on contract at the present time in comparison with the previous contract is submitted and indicates a substantial increase in all items. This appropriation is used for the purchase of textbooks for pupils in the senior high, junior high, vocational, and elementary schools, and for the purchase o supplies for general classroom, art, business practice, and physical-training purposes on all school levels. The $20,000 is requested to meet the needs of the schools because of general price increases in these items. This request of $20,000 represents an increase of $15,000 over the 1938 appropriation of $185,000. The price of textbooks has increased from 5 to 10 percent during the past year and this affects approximately 50 percent of the appropriation which has been expended for books. Below are listed representative supply items purchased out of this appropriation for general classroom purposes taken from class 53 of the General Schedule of Supplies issued by the Procurement Division, through which these items are purchased. These prices must be paid for these materials which will be purchased out of the 1939 appropriation because the contracts for class 53, which includes stationery, paper, and office supplies, expires on November 30, 1938. It is, of course, necessary for purchase of materials to be made long before the expiration date of these contracts in order to have the supplies in the schools by opening time in September. PURCHASE SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT LABORATORIES Page 29, line 1, change "$15,000" to "$16,875." The following is a detailed list of the reductions made by the House of Representatives which were approved by the Bureau of the Budget: Equipment for beginning the establishment of general science laboratory in the Abbot Vocational School______ $225 Supplies for science laboratories at the following schools: Vocational, divisions 1-9: Abbot Vocational School: 1 general science laboratory at $50---Dennison Vocational School: 1 general science laboratory at $50, for one-half year, beginning Feb. 1, 1939----. 50 25 Vocational, divisions 10-13: Phelps Vocational School: 1 general science laboratory at $50-----M. M. Washington Vocational School: 1 general science laboratory at $50. 50 50 Deal Junior High School: 1 general science laboratory at $50. Junior high, divisions 1-9: Junior High, divisions 10-13: Junior high school on Banneker recreation site: 3 general science laboratories at $50 each, one-half year--- 50 50 Total_. Not specified.--. Grand total___. 75 575 1,400 1,975 |