NO SUPPORT FOR PROTEST.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20730, 15 December 1932, Page 5

NO SUPPORT FOR PROTEST.

I INTERMEDIATE school at ! WEST CHRISTCHURCH. j I ATTITUDE OF COMMITTEES' ASSOCIATION. Cv 13 votes to ft the Canterbury choul Committees' Association refused last evening to support the Addington "' C 00 * in its.protest against the decision of the Canterbury Education Board to reorganise the Addington School by the removal of the pupils of Standards V. and VI. to the West Clmstehureh .School for the purpose of establishing an intermediate school there. The meeting also passed a resolution expressing the opinion that the advantages of the junior high school i>\stem should be extended tn Canterr'T as ra P*dly ; is possible. The chairman (Mr S. 11. Kvisott) said that the executive recommended the iliticiibsioii ot' the position under tvro headings: (1) r fhe generstl question of reorganisation; (2) the local operation .is applied to the establishment of an intermediate school at Woht Christchurch and the bringing Ul , lo date ojthe primary school at Addington. lie had received a letter from the Addington School Committee containing a suggested resolution setting out its objections to the decision of the .Education Department, and asking i'or .support in its request fur reconsideration of tbe matter.

The chairman ,-,ai<l tLut tlicy all tinted to have the primary education system in Canterbury brought U])-!o----(Itte. The opinions of experts had lo be given full consideration, but it. anus desirable to find out how far the advice of the experts Avas acceptable to the authorities. There was plenty of evidence that the opinions of the experts in regard to the need for the reorganisation of the primary schools system \vcre acceptable to tlio authori; tie?. There was some discussion at this point concerning the procedure. Some delegates claimed that the resolution from the Addington Committee had precedence on the order paper. The chairman refused to accept the Addington resolution as an amendment, and also refused to accept a motion from Mr Clyde Sheppard that the ruling oi' the ehair be disagreed with. The resolution from the executive -was then put to the meeting and carried. The text of the resolution was:—

"That this meeting of the Canterbury School Committees' Association on. the assumption that the reorganisation of primary education as recommended by the Parliamentary Recess Committee of 1930 is now the policy of the Education Department, views with concern the preferential treatment given to the Auckland Education District where seven intermediate schools have been established while none has been established in the Canterbury Education District, and. considers that the advantages of the new system should be extended to the Canterbury education district as rapidly as possible." Mr J. S. Barnett, delegate from tho Addington School Committee. moved the following resolution;—

"That the Addington School' appeals to the School Committees' Association t(f assist it in its protest against the - Canterbury Education Board's proposal to reorganise the Addington School by the removal of Standards V. and VI. to West Christchurch foj tho purpose of establishing an intermediate school there."

After a long discussion the Addington committee's resolution was defeated by 15 votes to 6. On the motion of Mr E. R. Dan vers it was decided: "That it has been'shown that in the scheme under consideration serious hardship will be felt by some of the infants whose parents had expected to be able to send them to the West Christchurch School. This meeting therefore Urges the Canterbury Education Board to take whatever steps may be necessary to meet the situation in the interests of the first-year children."