Montgomery County Sentinel

Twinbrook
County Expects School
Enrollment of 100,000

Predictions of future educational needs in the county made during the panel discussion recently before 60 representatives of Bethesda area P-TAs included:

Salary increases for teachers with another 700 teachers needed next September to bring the instructional staff close to 3000.

This could only be financed by a higher tax rate, according to Superintendent C. Taylor Whittier, one of the five panel members speaking at Western Junior High last Thursday.

School enrollment is expected to reach 100,000 by 1965.

Possible construction projects next year in the Bethesda area are:
additions to Chevy Chase and Ashburton Elementaries;
North Bethesda Junior and Walter Johnson Senior Highs; and a site in the Radnor area for a new elementary and in the Wilson Lane area for a new secondary school.

Integration steps next year will probably be mostly in the up county area but the 50 elementary Negro children in the Bethesda area now attending Rock Terrace in Rockville will be integrated with the opening of the new Burning Tree School.

Besides Dr. Whittier, the panel included County Councilwoman Stella Werner. School Board President Lathrop Smith and School Board Members Rose Kramer and Willard McGraw.

Mrs. Werner said that she was opposed to any new sources of revenue but urged that the P-TAs fight for better redistribution of present State funds. She also asked their support for overriding the governor's veto of the $400 teacher pay increase and for extension of the Federal Aid program which expires shortly.

Improvements that she would support, she said, were adequate teacher salaries: better long-range planning with more correlation between fiscal and land purchase plan: better relations between the county manager and the school staff, particularly on the school budget: and a more detailed school budget.

Smith agreed with Mrs. Werner and added that the public laws needed clarifying on where the line should be drawn between the responsibilities of the county manager and the board of education. He also felt that the school's special education program was "a mere pittance of what we should be doing."

Mrs. Kramer explained why immediate additions are often needed at new schools. Aside from the money factor, she said, there was the psychological impact of having empty classrooms in one area when other areas are overcrowded.

The educators defended themselves against a criticism that their budget should represent ultimate goals rather than minimum needs by claiming that they were moving in the right direction but had to go slowly because of the need to take care of the increase in school enrollment as well as raising educational standards.

Dr. Whittier stated that he would support a merit system as a means of raising teachers salaries only after an adequate salary scale for all had been reached.

The superintendent also said that competition for teachers only applies to the well-trained people; that there is always a supply of unqualified teachers; and that "school systems with better salary scales have qualified teachers standing in line to be hired."