needed, with the normal capital outlay for the required repair and equipment at an estimated cost of $285,000.

The fiscal structure of Rantoul elementary schools is not such that the above construction costs can be borne by local effort since approximately 25 percent of the area of the district is within the boundaries of this Federal activity which, including the installations, are tax-free. In Illinois, revenue for schoolhouse construction must come from tax levied or assessed valuation of property within the school district. In several adjoining districts with greatly increased enrollments, construction needs are met from the taxes collected from the industry which provides employment to the families where the children live. That, as has been pointed out earlier, is not the case in this district, and the building needs cannot be provided for the students of Chanute and Rantoul unless outside assistance is granted.

All the foregoing conditions are stated to show the seriousness of the problem and the justification for assistance, but in no way is a criticism of the Government offered nor is there any complaint registered against the officials at Chanute Air Force Base, for they have been most cooperative in an attempt to relieve the building need in the district.

Senator MORSE. Thank you very much, Mr. Eater. I do not think there is anything we can add to what we have already brought out in the testimony today.

Am I correct in my assumption that you join in the conclusions that the other witnesses presented here in respect to their support of Federal aid to education on the basis of the conviction that they had no fear of Federal interference with educational policies?

Mr. EATER. That is right, and I have stated here the problem as it exists in the Rantoul elementary school, one of the districts. in the State of Illinois, and some of the colleagues from Illinois are here and will testify for the other schools. I had planned earlier to do that, but since they are here to testify in their own behalf, I merely stated that for Rantoul.

Senator MORSE. Thank you very much.

The next witness will be Mr. G. C. Burkhead, superintendent of schools, Elizabethtown, Ky.

STATEMENT OF G. C. BURKHEAD, SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, ELIZABETHTOWN, KY.

Mr. BURKHEAD. I am superintendent of county schools, and I have prepared a statement and given it to our Senator, Senator Withers, who, according to letter, filed it with Senator Humphrey.

Our problem is similar to the problems that have been discussed, except that we have a field at Fort Knox, the home of the Army Ground Force School, and they maintain a school on the post. We have between 400 and 500 children on the outside of the post who come to two of our community schools, or consolidated schools. Our problem is this:

In the past 5 years, 6 years, we have doubled our tax rate, from 75 cents to a dollar and a half, and have increased our assessed valuation 60 percent. That only provides approximately 50 per child, and all we are able to do is maintain and operate low-standard schools, and I would like to add to the statement that was made this morning about achievement.

We have given objective tests over the past years. We kept accurate records. These children start school in these crowded classrooms. We have 18 of them, which are old NYA barracks. They are crowded in those rooms, and by the time they get to the eighth grade they are 1 year below the national average, and you can accredit it to poor housing, poor teachers' pay. Our lowest-paid teacher gets $100 a month, and the highest-paid teacher gets approximately $175 a month. If we could get $340,000 to spend for buildings, that would just about take care of these overcrowded conditions in the northern part of the county adjacent to Fort Knox and Godman Field. Then we will have three-fourths of our county left without any buildings at all for the period of the life of the bonds, which will be 20 years, and the rest of the county needs aid, and it needs buildings too, so we are afraid to spend our money, afraid that something will come along, until we get some matching money. So for the time being we are just sitting still trying to maintain the best schools we can under the conditions.

Senator MORSE. That is very helpful, Mr. Burkhead. It is obvious, it seems to me, that if by the time they reach the eighth grade your average students are 1 year behind the national average as far as accomplishment is concerned

Mr. BURKHEAD. Achievement is concerned.

Senator MORSE. Achievement is concerned, that they certainly are in no competitive position to move on into higher education because that would be, it seems to me, a tremendously large percentage of them who would be bound to flunk out soon after they got into a higher-education institution because of an inadequate elementary school training.

Mr. BURKHEAD. May I make this statement: On this side of the line they go to the post school and they spend approximately $175 per child. We have Army children on this side of the line, and we spend approximately $50 per child. The Government furnishes $120 per child to the children on that side of the line, and on this side of the line they have no support at all. It has been hard on the whole county system because we have had to spread our meager resources over the entire county, and the whole county has suffered as a result of these 400 or 500 extra children. We had more in the beginning to take care of them adequately, but a burden of 400 or 500 more children has made it worse than ever.

Senator MORSE. It certainly illustrates very dramatically that there is no equality of educational opportunity under any such system as that.

Mr. BURKHEAD. We have done our best. We are at our constitutional limit on the tax rate, and we have increased our assessments 60 percent, yet we are not able to maintain and operate our schools, much less a building program.

Senator MORSE. Mr. Clerk, I think that this is the appropriate place in the record to incorporate Mr. Burkhead's statement that he submitted to Senator Withers and, therefore, I suggest that when you locate the statement it be inserted at this point in the record. Thank you very much, Mr. Burkhead.

Mr. BURKHEAD. He can give you a copy of the letter that I sent to Senator Withers, if that will do.

Mr. RODGERS. That will be fine.

(The letter referred to is, in full, as follows:)

Senator GARRETT L. WITHERS,

United States Senate, Washington, D. C.

MAY 31, 1949.

MY DEAR SENATOR: I have just learned that amended S. 287 for schoolbuilding construction will be given hearings from different groups starting tomorrow.

I would like to review again the facts that make the need for this assistance in Hardin County imperative.

When Fort Knox was expanded before and during the war period, several thousands of acres of land and even small villages were taken into the reservation. This, of course, decreased the amount of taxable property for school revenue.

There are two schools in very close proximity to Fort Knox, Rineyville and Vine Grove. The average daily attendance in these two schools increased from 1939-40 to the present by more than 500 pupils. There were 734 in 1939-40 and there are this year, 1,258.

There was possible in 1939-40 a maximum tax levy for school purposes of 75 cents per hundred. This county had the maximum. În 1949 there is a maximum of $1.50, and that is levied by this board. Duing the years between every effort has been made to secure a more fair and equitable tax assessment and the assessments have in this time almost doubled. This will show that every effort has been made to take care of our problems on the local level.

During the school years from 1940 through 1945, Hardin County received assistance by funds from the Lanham Act for the operation and maintenance of Rineyville and Vine Grove. In 1945, the first year that it was possible to levy $1.50 tax, this was done and the school term for all children increased to 9 months. Since we increased our school facilities, we could no longer share in the money. from the Lanham Act.

This year there are more than 400 students in Rineyville and Vine Grove who are there directly as a result of Fort Knox. There are three additional busses and three additional teachers necessary to take care of these children. Our classroom space is crowded, and temporary rooms are in use.

At Rineyville in a building for 250 we are housing 527 children. This is not safe nor conducive to good teaching. Three portable rooms are used. At Vine Grove five temporary rooms are in use. One of these is a basement room which cannot be properly lighted or heated.

It would be financially sound at this time for the Hardin County Board of Education to issue $340,000 in revenue bonds for building. This amount would mean that no more building could be done with local funds for more than 20 years. The entire amount $340,000 is needed for the two schools at Rineyville and Vine Grove, the two near Fort Knox.

Nothing would be left for the remainder of the county where more than $450,000 additional money for buildings is needed. One building now in use by 350 pupils is hazardous because of age and condition. It must be replaced.

Unless this board of education can get some help from some other source, the building program for this county is stymied for several years. Yet we know for

a certainty that Vine Grove must have three additional rooms for next year and that Rineyville must have two additional rooms.

The facts presented will show that Hardin County has made an effort to get all the revenue possible from local sources. They further support the increased

school population due to Fort Knox.

I hope that you will find it possible to present these facts to the committee that is holding hearings on S. 287.

I want you to know that we in Hardin County will appreciate your efforts to help us with our problem.

Very truly yours,

G. C. BURKHEAD, Superintendent.

Senator MORSE. The next witness will be Mr. C. B. McFadden, Moses Lake, Wash.

STATEMENT OF C. B. MCFADDEN, SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, MOSES LAKE, WASH.

Mr. MCFADDEN. Senator Morse, I am superintendent of schools at Moses Lake, Wash., situated in the middle of the Columbia Basin, and we have an Air Force base there which has just reopened. Our town is midway between Hanford, the atomic-bomb plant, shall we say, and Grand Coulee Dam. The Air Force has told us that they rate our base as the No. 1 defense base in the United States.

We also have a problem with the Bureau of Reclamation in the Columbia Basin. Our school district had 160 pupils in it in 1942. At the present time there are approximately 850. Next year at this time we anticipate that our school will be double in size. The people in the district and the State have done their utmost to provide schools. At the present time we need 18 elementary classrooms for next year and are now awaiting on the high school for more classroom space.

I do not have too much more to add that other people have not given, but I do feel that our people have done their part, the State has done its part, and we at the present time are at a loss.

Senator MORSE. Do you agree with the testimony of Senator Kerr this morning that your predicament is another one which has been created by Federal activity rather than by any activity of the State government?

Mr. MCFADDEN. Very definitely. I think you probably know the Moses Lake area.

Senator MORSE. You share the view expressed by the other witnesses that because of the fact that this is a problem created primarily by the Federal Government, the Federal Government should at least bear its fair share of the construction costs for the school facilities necessary to give these children a decent education? Mr. MCFADDEN. That is our view. And that is another point: If the Federal Government is going to enter into business, the Federal Government should assume the responsibility of the business. If private business were in our district, they would be assuming our burden.

Senator MORSE. Thank you very much, Mr. McFadden.

The next witness will be Mr. Ori, president of the board of education, Highwood, Ill.

STATEMENT OF NELLO ORI, PRESIDENT, BOARD OF EDUCATION, HIGHWOOD, ILL.

Mr. ORI. Mr. Chairman, our school district comprises all of the city of Highwood, Ill., part of Highland Park, and the nontaxable camp of Fort Sheridan, Ill., an Army camp.

Our problem is more or less the same as the one stated by witnesses this morning and some of those this afternoon. So I briefly cite some of the statistics to show our position.

In 1945 and 1946 we had 33 pupils from Fort Sheridan, Ill., and in 1948 and 1949 we had 127. So that created a necessity to hire four or five more teachers, because we aim to keep the standard of education as high as possible, and we do not have any more than 25 pupils per class; and it also created a necessity to expand our building.

We have had a referendum for bonds, and the population has approved a bond issue of $200,000. But the estimate of the costs of the expansion will be at least $250,000, and since we can show that part of the necessity for expanding the building comes from activities of the Federal Government, the camp in Fort Sheridan, which does not pay any taxes for the support of the school-I should put it a little stronger than the others--we believe that it is the duty of the Federal Government to help pay for the expansion of the building.

Now, as the previous witness said, if this camp were a private industry they would pay taxes to our school board and there would be no problem at all. But since the Federal Government comes along and takes a nice piece of land and makes it exempt from taxation, I believe that the Federal Government has a duty to see to it that the children from this camp should be educated at the expense of the Federal Government, because our district is small and any increase -in this case 150 percent additional students from Fort Sheridancreates a very pressing problem; and we have done our best, but we believe that we either have to lower the standard of education or possibly do the best we can with the facilities we have.

Senator MORSE. What do you say, Mr. Ori, to the argument that one frequently hears from the opponents of this sort of legislation, which runs in this channel: When it comes, in the first instance, to the location of these Federal projects the chambers of commerce and business groups and citizen groups generally bring a great deal of pressure to bear upon the Congress to have the project located in X town or Y town or Z town, knowing full well that when they seek those projects that they are going to have some problems go along with them such as a great drain on the police services of the community and on the fire department and on the school system and other municipal services, and that they make those requests with their eyes open, therefore when an air base is located in X town or an atomic energy plant in Y town or some other Federal project in Z town they ought to know that these school problems are going to be one of the resultants; and also, say the opponents of this legislation, the very location of these projects in X, Y, and Z towns greatly increases the over-all wealth of the community because of the higher income that the expenditure of the money from these projects brings into the community, and the States ought to do something about seeing to it that this increased source of wealth is properly taxed by income taxes and special excise taxes, diverting part of that tax income to the school system of the State over and above the present form of school taxes.

Now, that is about as brief as I can put the argument I run into on this sort of legislation as one of its sponsors. What is your reply to it? Mr. ORI. My answer would be that some of them probably see all the problems connected with the activities of the Federal Government in their location, but some of them do not. But even if they do see them, I have been with the school board for 9 years, and I know that you have State laws which limit the ability of the school board to tax the people for the purpose of maintaining the school, and once you run up against a ceiling above which you cannot raise any more taxes, you still have a big problem, whether the local chamber of commerce and other people of similar inclinations have seen the problem or not, and because it deals with the education of our children it seems to me