FEDERAL ASSISTANCE FOR CONSTRUCTION OF

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

TUESDAY, JUNE 14, 1949

UNITED STATES SENATE,

SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON

LABOR AND PUBLIC WELFARE,
Washington, D. C.

The subcommittee met, pursuant to adjournment, at 10:15 a. m., in room 135, Senate Office Building, Senator Wayne Morse presiding. Present: Senator Morse (presiding).

Senator MORSE. The hearing will come to order.

We are privileged to have as our first witness today Senator Robert S. Kerr, United States Senator from Oklahoma, who will testify on school construction legislation proposals.

STATEMENT OF HON. ROBERT S. KERR, A UNITED STATES SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA

Senator KERR. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

As coauthor of this bill, I fully recognize the importance of all phases of this legislation affecting schoolhouse construction. The provision of S. 287 which authorizes $5,000,000 to be allocated to the various State departments of education, with which to finance an adequate survey of these facts, should provide accurate information for future authorizations by the Congress to meet the Federal Government's part of this obligation. I believe that this is the correct approach toward the solution of this problem.

The authorization of $150,000,000 by this Congress to meet the "critical" needs now existing can be justified on the basis of information presently at hand. There are "critical" needs in most, if not all, States resulting from various general causes and which cannot be met without Federal assistance.

In Shawnee, Okla., one of the larger school systems in the State, the high-school building was completely destroyed by fire in March 1948. At the time of this loss, insurance in the amount of $200,000 was in force on this building, which, due to the age and condition of the building, was a reasonable coverage. The citizens of this community had already voted bonds in the amount of $245,000 to remodel and add to this old structure. Since the loss, however, they have voted another bond issue of $160,000, making a total of $405,000 to replace a complete facility for the 1,000 high-school pupils in this school district. This is the maximum of funds available for schoolbuilding construction under the State constitution and is approximately $500,000 short of the need in view of advanced

costs. During the past year and at the present time, these 1,000) pupils are attending classes in churches and in the classrooms of a small religious college located in this city. Due to heavy college enrollments, these classrooms are available only in the late afternoon and evenings. Certainly, such a condition will seriously impair the quality of education for the important high-school phase of the school life of these children.

At Boley, Okla., a 100-percent Negro community, the entire school plant was destroyed by fire a few months ago. This is a poor school district, bonded to the limit, and the insurance carried on the building will not replace the building destroyed. This situation presents a "critical" need for Federal assistance.

The most urgent critical need, and the one about which the most information is available, is that occasioned by an unusually large increase in scholastics due to various Federal activities in or near a great number of local school districts throughout the Nation. There are seven schools in Oklahoma at Choctaw, Guthrie, Lawton, Midwest City, Poteau, Pryor, and Putnam City which have been seriously affected by Federal installations. These seven scohools have had an increase in average daily attendance totaling 6,864 pupils, or 78 percent, over that of their last normal year prior to the defense impact. In comparison to this impact, the other 12 schools of similar size in the State experienced an increase of only 287 pupils or less than 1 percent during the same period of time.

Another simple example indicating the need for Federal assistance is the comparative taxable wealth per child in each of these school groups. In the seven schools receiving additional children because of increased Federal activity, the average taxable wealth per child is $1,833 compared to $3,640 in the other group. Thus, the war and defense area schools are faced with the problem of meeting both the normal building needs and that caused by a 78 percent increased pupil load with only half the taxable wealth as similar schools in the same fiscal and economic pattern.

During the past 8 years the local districts have spent $1,342,012 and the Federal Government has provided approximately $658,000 for both temporary and permanent school buildings. At the present time $3,730,000 is needed to provide comparable and permanent school facilities for the 15,687 pupils now attending these seven schools. In order to have such comparable facilities for these children, the local districts can and are willing to provide $779,467 through voting the maximum school bonds, and the maximum building levies under State law. At the same time they are asking the Federal Government to furnish the remaining $2,950,533 to meet this total comparative need. This can be done through enactment of S. 287 or similar legislation. When it is done, the school districts will have furnished 38 percent of the total funds in meeting a 100 percent federally caused problem.

As further evidence of the necessity for Federal assistance provided under S. 287 as amended, I wish to offer and have placed in the record the statement of Oscar V. Rose, superintendent of schools, Midwest City, Okla. This statement, concerning the problem of the Midwest City school district wherein the Federal responsibility is clearly demonstrated, contains facts and states principles which I endorse and to which I invite your careful attention. School districts throughout the Nation, such as the seven Oklahoma districts men

tioned, have a peculiar and just claim on the revenues of the Federal Government, and it is my sincere hope that your committee will favorably report legislation to the Senate which will discharge this Federal responsibility.

Senator MORSE. Senator Kerr, that is a very helpful statement for this record, and as one of the cosponsors of S. 287, I personally thank you for the statement. I would like to ask you just two or three questions in order to help clarify this record.

First, do you know of anything in S. 287, the bill in support of which you have just testified, that creates any danger to any degree whatsoever, of Federal Government control of local school-district policies?

Senator KERR. I do not. In fact I have what I believe to be positive knowledge that it contains no such provision or danger.

Senator MORSE. Do you agree with the chairman, the acting chairman of this subcommittee, that so long as legislation such as S. 287 makes perfectly clear that no administrative policy of control over school matters is given to the Federal Government in any such Federal aid to education, which this in fact is, then there is a responsibility resting upon the Federal Government to come to the assistance of the State, with Federal money to meet what you say on page 3 of your statement is to at least a certain extent a federally caused problem?

Senator KERR. I concur in that, Mr. Chairman, and there can be no question but that the problem was caused by activities of the Federal Government, nor can there be any question as to the worthiness of the activities or as to their necessities.

I have a very deep conviction that education is a problem for local administration, but I have just as deep a conviction that it is a matter of grave national concern, and this legislation, as presently written and amended, is consistent with what I believe to be both a necessity for local administration and control, and for the Federal Government to recognize its great concern in the matter of education, and its responsibility in meeting that concern.

Senator MORSE. The Chair completely agrees with the statement of the Senator from Oklahoma, and asks only one more question. Do you agree that from the very beginning of our Government it has been recognized that support of public schools is a governmental function, under our system of government?

Senator KERR. I will answer the question, "Yes," and I will make this explanatory remark: The recognition of the Federal Government's responsibility and of a State government's responsibility have both been on a gradual basis due to the increased enlightenment of the people and their growing realization both for the necessity of the development of educational facilities at the local level, and the realization that they can be developed and they can be expanded only as Government makes it possible.

Of course, Mr. Chairman, I have always been quite interested in what I believe to be the facts; that a nation of American Indians was the first, so far as I know, in the world to recognize the responsibility of their central government for the providing of educational facilities at the local level on the basis of free and equal opportunity to all of the children and on a basis supported by the central government. That was the Cherokee Indian Nation; so the principle and the meeting of the responsibility can be said to be peculiarly American, as I see it.

Senator MORSE. Even in our earliest colonial times you find the recognition of the responsibility of the state to encourage public instruction. We come down through Jefferson's time where we get pronouncements so clear that there is no room for doubt of the recognition, during his period of our history, of the duty of State support for public instruction, including his famous statement that the strength of our democracy is dependent upon the enlightenment of our people. I paraphrase him.

Then there is his pronouncement in regard to the importance of public instruction being supported if we are to preserve this system of government. I think this history needs to be kept in mind as we consider legislation such as S. 287, because I think there is a lot of very misleading propaganda today being circulated in this country by people in high position; for example, officials of schools supported by private endowments. They, in my judgment, are misleading the American people in regard to this issue. They are making pronouncements to the effect that Federal support of education endangers State school administrative policy. I do not, however, wish to involve you in that discussion. I intend to discuss it on the floor of the Senate, but I do now want to say that a background reflecting great ability in the military affairs of this country is, in my opinion, not necessarily any qualification for making pronouncements on the educational duties of our Government to support the public-school system, because I think that our democracy will remain only as strong as support to our schools in educating our young people in the problems of democracy.

I say that as an alumnus of Columbia University.

Senator KERR. It would be an amazing development, Mr. Chairman, for the people to thoroughly indorse Federal aid in the building of local roads and then condemn the principle of Federal aid in the building of that without which the roads would be of little use, and that is the human resources of the Nation.

Senator MORSE. It seems to me so perfectly clear, Senator Kerr, so perfectly clear that we can pass legislation that protects the administrative policies and jurisdiction of our local autonomous governmental units, and still have the Federal Government give that assistance that is needed, seeing to it that we have a school system in this country that provides the minimum educational standards for all of our children, and for someone to come along and raise the scarecrow that providing such funds is going to endanger the school policies of any State I think is sophomoric and shows a lack of understanding of the whole history of American education.

Well, that is enough, I suppose.

Senator KERR. Again I am happy to find myself in such complete agreement with the statement of the chairman of the committee. Senator MORSE. Senator Kerr, do I understand that you have filed a statement of Oscar V. Rose, superintendent of schools, in Midwest City, Okla., or is Mr. Rose here?

Senator KERR. Yes, sir; Mr. Rose is here, but I have filed an outline of his statement. He is probably the best-qualified man in Oklahoma, including the one who has just spoken, to provide information on this subject.

Senator MORSE. Well, we will let Mr. Rose show cause as to whether or not that is a true statement.