August 25, 1960

Mr, John W. Wall, Secretary
Rhode Island Hospite1 Trust Company
Providence 1, Rhode Island

Please forgive my delay in replying to your recent
letter concerning your interest in Federal Aid to Education,
but I wanted to go into the matter rather thoroughly with the
U. Se Commissioner of Education here in Washington with regard
to some of the questions you had raised,

Commissioner Derthick informs me it is true, that in
the United States as a whole and in Rhode Island, there has been
some improvement over previous years in the number of classrooms
built. However, from the enclosed copy of the Fall 1959 Enroll-
ment, Teachers, and Schoolhousing survey, it is noted that the
Rhode Island State Department of Education reported 16 additional
instruction rooms were needed in the fall of 1959 and only 22 were
scheduled for completion during the year (page 15).

Looking at the problem in terms of the number of children
involved (page 10), it is noted that in 1958 there were ),335
children in Rhode Island enrolled in excess of normal capacity;
but in the fall of 1959 there were 5,387 children enrolled in
excess of normal capacity, or an increase of 2.3 percent over
the previous year. Not only were the 5,387 children enrolled in
excess of normal capacity last school year suffering because of
overcrowded classrooms, half-day sessions, and unsatisfactory
facilities, but so was every other child enrolled in a class which
had even one more child than it could satisfactorily accommodate.

It is my opinion that a child has only one chanze to gain
an educations and an education of poor quality, for whatever reason,
is something which affects his whole life, and is something which
he himself is powerless to correct. The child must depend upon
his community, and its citizens, to make it possible for him to
secure the kind of education which will enable him to develop to
his full capacity, and became of the greatest possible benefit to
our society and nation.
«Qe

It is for these reasons that the President has asked the
Congress to enact a program of Federal assistance to help needy
school districts build urgently needed classrooms, It is our
belief that youth is a national resource wherever it is found, and
that it is the Federal Government's duty to give the most help
to the neediest districts and the neediest States, so that all
citizens of these United States may have the benefits of the best
schools our country can produce.

The enclosed statement prepared by the Commissioner
relating to certain aspects of Federal aid to education, I thought
might be of some interest to you.e. It is always most helpful for
me to have the comments of my friends throughout the State and
I am grateful to you for taking the time to write to me in order
that I might explain how I fe¥ about the matter of providing
Federal aid to Education,

With every warmest wish,
Sincerely,

John E. Fogarty, Me Ce