wide taxing basis, whereas in Washington everything must come from the local district.

Mr. BATES. Of course you understand the tax system in all of the States?

Dr. CORNING. Quite well, yes,

sir.

Mr. BATES. In many of those States they allocate a certain proportion-say the income-tax collections-by the States, back to the communities upon a percentage basis to assist in maintaining teachers' salaries.

The District here is a taxing power with respect to income, both corporate and personal. So we have the benefit of a complete tax system here that we can apply and do apply as a matter of fact, to the school system, because, coming under the general department of the city, you get your relative share of the income tax or corporate taxes, whatever other taxes are assessed locally for the benefit of the school system, under the general administration of the department.

The only question is whether or not the income-tax collection is high enough, or other taxes assessed are high enough that would give you relatively a higher percentage than you now receive for school

purposes.

Dr. CORNING. I was not arguing the higher percentage as of the District, for instance, but I think the point I am trying to make applies not only to the schools but also to all of the District government. There is no money coming from any broader source than the District of Columbia.

In Delaware, for instance, 91 percent-that is very high-of the school revenue comes from State-wide taxation. Most of our revenue, on the other hand, must come from District-wide taxation in the District of Columbia.

Mr. BATES. Then I think it all adds up to about the same thing, only we do the taxing here instead of the States doing the taxing.

Senator CAIN. You get no moneys from the Federal contribution? Dr. CORNING. We do not know how to figure that because it does not come to us; that goes to the District.

Senator CAIN. You would assume that the lump sum the Congress pays represents in part a Federal contribution to your school system, would you not?

Dr. CORNING. We get our just share of the contribution which is made by the Federal Government.

Senator CAIN. You have no counterpart of the State from which you receive money, but you do have the Federal?

Dr. CORNING. That is right. I thought it might be of general interest to you.

Those are the questions, as I recall them, which were asked. If there are others, of course, we will have to search the record and give you all the information that you want.

Senator CAIN. If it is proper at this point, I would like to ask the question, Doctor, that you have among your junior high schools and elementary teachers as I understand it, four pay classifications. In your senior teachers' group you have two different pay classifications.

If I am correct in that assumption, that is a reflection on the need for the difference between four for the lower grade teachers and only two for the higher.

Dr. CORNING. Actually, because senior high school teachers begin with the master's degree, they have classifications similar to the C and D classifications available to the elementary school teachers. Under the present schedule, however, only up to 10 percent of the teachers were promoted to B and D.

Senator CAIN. Ninety percent of your people were in the A and C classifications?

Dr. CORNING. Definitely so.

Now with the liberalizing of admissions to B and D, we think of it as one single schedule. The only difference is that to get to the B and D levels, there is a point where all of us are asked to demonstrate how we have been spending our time, and whether we have been growing professionally and giving satisfactory service. It is quite different from the way it was before.

The policy before was to select 10 percent of the superior teachers and give them additional money. Now we think of it as one continuous schedule going from A to B.

Senator CAIN. And from C to D.

Dr. CORNING. Exactly so. Though there really are two classifications there.

You see, in the elementary schools there were only two classifications under the old plan because the elementary teachers received no recognition for their masters' degrees at all. This schedule corrects that inequity and does make provision for the master's degree among elementary school teachers.

Senator CAIN. One other question that I have, Dr. Corning: I understand that your joint legislative committee gave considerable consideration to providing additional moneys for holders of masters' degrees plus 30 hours, the presumption being, I suppose, as an incentive to master of arts' holders to become better, and I understand for reasons of their own, the joint legislative council decided to cut out that incentive recommendation.

I know nothing about its background, my mind is entirely free and open on it; I wondered, however, if you would care to reflect on whether you think it is a pity that that incentive was cut out, or whether you think it was perfectly proper and your system will get along just as well.

Dr. CORNING. I indicated to you the other day that there were some things requested in the schedule which we did not in our office accept as valid or desirable-I cannot give you the reasoning of the joint legislative council but I can give you the reasoning of the officers of the District and the Board of Education in not including that provision.

One was that it is not in common practice the country over as yet to recognize financially doctors' degrees or work beyond the master's degree.

Furthermore, it was our thinking that if the 30 hours plus the master's degree were granted financial recognition, that it would take the salaries to a level which would considerably increase the ultimate cost. But immediately it affects only very few people, anyway. Senator CAIN. The chart here

Dr. CORNING. That deals only with temporary teachers, you see. Senator CAIN. That says you have but seven in that category. I imagine you have a good many more than that.

Dr. CORNING. It affects only a very few people.

In discussing this matter with groups interested in it, I have ex pressed my personal interest in the classification but have advised that I did not think, and I think my opinion is supported by the other officers who have carefully considered this, that it is appropriate at this time to ask for the added classification by reason of the fact that it would bring our maximum salaries to a point that would be a bit out of line.

Senator CAIN. In terms of dollars, you probably feel that if you had to choose between one course and another, you could use dollars in your school system today to a better purpose than to provide an additional incentive to people with rather adequate salaries in the master of arts classification?

Dr. CORNING. That is correct.

Mr. BATES. Dr. Corning, I want to get back again to the distribution of local funds, because I think we ought to clear up that point, as to how the District fares with respect to the distribution of all revenues, on money that is available for all general purposes.

I have a schedule here from the Bureau of the Census giving the comparison of the distribution of all money available for expenditure in the District and 14 other cities. That shows for schools and libraries as they have apparently joined the two of them together for the purpose of this study-that the average expenditure of all moneys within the jurisdiction of these municipalities is 26.1, and the District is 27.7.

The District being 27.7, it is fourth among the 14 cities in the distribution of all moneys that are available for school and library purposes.

I think you have this table also that shows that the annual expenditure for enrolled pupils-I think you took some issue with the basis of considering the enrolled pupil as being in the proper basis, and that computation by the Bureau of the Census shows that the annual average expenditure of pupils enrolled in these 14 cities is $122 a year; in the District of Columbia, $139, and there is only 1 city higher than the District of Columbia, and that is the city of Boston which is $147. Dr. CORNING. I submitted to you a table showing the records in 42 cities. I do not have that right before me at this moment. It is based on information coming directly from the Office of Education.

Mr. BATES. I examined your statistics on enrollment. Your only issue with these figures, which are based on enrolled pupils, is that you thought the average attendance was a better factor on which to base that, but your enrolled figures checked out with those figures here?

Dr. CORNING. We do not show the same ranking of cities.

Mr. BATES. You took 45, and the Bureau of the Census took 14 cities, as near to the size of Washington as they could get.

Dr. CORNING. Yes; we took 42.

Mr. BATES. The thought I want to express is this:

I think it ought to become a part of the record that the District government from a comparative standpoint with other communities has not been niggardly. I say comparatively.

Whether or not they have allowed enough money is what we are considering today. But in comparison with other cities, with one

exception on the basis of enrollment, there is only one city higher and that was Boston.

The District is fourth in the percentage of the tax dollar distributed for the purpose of school administration among these cities.

Dr. CORNING. In making a comparison, we should not include libraries in Washington.

Mr. BATES. Of course they include libraries in these other communities.

Dr. CORNING. For total annual expenditures for that same year, based on these 42 cities, Washington ranks thirteenth.

Mr. BATES. They include, of course, the largest cities in the country. Dr. CORNING. It does include New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Birmingham, and Sacramento.

Mr. BATES. They include 42 of the largest cities in the country.
Dr. CORNING. That is right.

Mr. BATES. These cities are based on cities of relative size to the District. I think your figures will probably check out with these, and these will check out with yours.

Dr. CORNING. I imagine they came from the same source. However, I do have a table which if I could submit in absentia, I would like to, which does exactly what you are mentioning, comparing the larger cities.

Mr. BATES. I did not pick out the larger cities, I picked out the 14 cities, that is, the Bureau of the Census, that made that study. I think it is aside from the issue. The question is whether we are making an adequate appropriation for schools anywhere throughout the country.

Dr. CORNING. Would I be permitted to submit for the record a table which is not here this morning but which will show Washington's position in school costs in comparison with 26 large cities?

Mr. BATES. Yes, indeed.

(The information referred to is as follows:)

TABLE 2.-Annual current expense per pupil and percent of total expenditure by 6 major accounts, 230 city school systems, 1944-45

1 For example: A ranking of 8 indicates that there are 7 cities above Washington, D. C., in expenditures.