Probably......I'm looking at the neighbors foundation as I type this and notice that where the majority of the paint has peeled off is on the cement block bond lines, probably 70-80%. However, there is also peeling paint on the cement blocks themselves at probably 20-30% and he repainted the entire foundation maybe 4 years ago.
When Packard was mentioning the smoother walls in the school, it was probably coated with a block filler on the interior wall. Commonly done today on the big box warehouse type stores.