"MORE THAN ITS SHARE"

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22435, 23 June 1938, Page 4

"MORE THAN ITS SHARE"

GRANTS TO GREY MAIN SCHOOL MB H. J. BIGNALL REPLIES TO CRITICISM The Grey Main School, rather than having been neglected, would seem to have had somewhat more than its share of the limited funds allotted to the Canterbury education district for maintenance, said Mr H. J. Bignall, of Greymouth, a member of the Canterbury Education Board, replying yesterday to statements recently made at a meeting of the school committee. Over the last three years, the actual expenditure at the school has been £7OO, from the board’s total grant, which had to provide for more than 370 schools, 240 residences, and 20 manual training centres. The amount of £7OO did not include £lB6 worth of furniture, supplied or renovated, which also had to come from the maintenance grant. Additionally, the committee had been granted £4O more than the ordinary incidental grants. After personal investigation, said Mr Bignall, he had recommended the board m September, 1936, to grant 20 additional racks in the school bicycle shed. The shed seemed to be the principal cause of complaint by the committee, but the work had to be held up and nothing was heard from the committee again until April, 1938. Some of the committee, said Mr Bignall, seemed of the opinion that the board had unlimited funds for maintenance works, whereas it was faced with the' necessity of carrying out works in their relative order of urgency, as finance permitted. At present many thousands of pounds were needed to put the schools and residences throughout the district in proper order. In the matter of visits to the school by board, members, fl special committee of the board, said Mr Bignall, had visited the school in March, 1937.