Crisis in Schools

"Our school system demands some prompt, effective help," President Eisenhower announced in February, 1953, and the nation's educators promptly chalked up an "A" for homework well-done. But the new administration evidently forgot its important assignment, for now, nearly three years later, the critical need for elementary and secondary school buildings and teachers remains almost totally ignored. Classroom and teacher shortages still force over 700,000 students to attend school only half-day, and 6 million children study, in fire-traps. The picture is not pleasant. The need for more schools and teachers has brought from the White House one major plan: a national conference which will convene in Washington on November 28 to discuss the problem.

Discussion, of course, is a fine thing, and the forthcoming conference will provide a splendid chance to dramatize school shortages. Mere talk, however, is a woefully inadequate way to assure a good public school system. Only an expanded program of federal aid can provide the funds acutely needed by American public education.

President Eisenhower did recommend a program of federal aid last year, but his plan was so limited that most Congressmen and educators did not waste much time studying it. After saying that $7 billion is needed for new schools, the President proposed federal grants of $66 million a year for three years--or 33 cents a year to meet every 35 dollars of admitted need. He also mentioned federal loans to be payed back with interest, but state administrators found this program even less acceptable than the grants.

Even the President's limited proposal shows the acceptance of the idea of expanded federal aid. The crisis in schools and teachers has become so pressing in recent years that state and local governments--traditionally responsible for education-- simply cannot meet the new financial burdens. Within five years, Eisenhower's estimate of a $7 billion capital outlay will have doubled, and enrollment--already rising more in one year than in the entire twenty years between 1930 and 1950-- is not expected to taper off. In short, state governments and local school districts cannot hope to underwrite the growing costs of adequate public education; the federal government must step in.

Actually, the federal government has aided state and local governments for many years with-out exerting much-feared federal direction. No federal control has resulted from the establishment of land-grant colleges, or from the large sums now spent for the school lunch program, or from aid to "federally-impacted areas--school districts which include a large number of federal employees or tax-free government property.

Since federal dollars do not imply federal domination, this fall's conference should strongly support federal aid to meet the twin evils of low teaching salaries and dilapidated or non-existent school buildings. Only the strong pressure on both Congress and the White House will produce the giant financial expenditures needed to solve America's No. 1 domestic problem.