CARE OF SCHOOLS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 3000, 19 December 1935, Page 10

CARE OF SCHOOLS.

CAPITATION ALLOWANCE.

•CHANGE IN SYSTEM PENDING?. . f ' T (By Telegraph—Own Correspondent) HAWERA, Wednesday. ,"The Eltham committee fails to see ■why the capitation allowance is based on the rolls," said the Rev. J. A. Ryburn when sponsoring the committee's suggestion to the South School Committees' Association meeting at Haw era that capitation should be based' on floor space and ground acreage, and tlmt there should be a more liberal and equitable scale of capitation. The meeting endorsed the principle giving consideration to space and acreage when computing capitation* •"We must get something to give " a certain annual income, so that we know what we can spend," said Mr. Ryburn. could not tell the caretaker thiat his wages had been reduced because tlie roll had decreased. Instead of reducing wages the committees carried on, ofjten robbing their special accounts. jf'Tlie position is the same at Hawera,"' said Mr. H. Collier. The committee had tof find £00 annually to keep going., |'I do not think the Eltham proposal cdpld succeed," said Mr. J. C. Barclay, avj member of the Taranaki Education B6ard. A tentative scheme, in which he understood floor space would be included, was' being drawn. The reintroduction of the five-year-olds might help tl|e capitation. ' The association could loftk to a future improvement, the board being provided with a surplus to assist necessitous cases at the end of the year. 3"New schemes should be partly on a per capita basis, making allowance for flooring and acreage," said Mr. W. A. Sj|eat. |Mr. Ryburn said it was realised the hoard, could not do more than it had d<jne. The Government should make a greater grant, and then committees could go less frequently with cap in hand for ofiher assistance.