EDUCATION BOARD ELECTIONS

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27098, 22 July 1953, Page 6

EDUCATION BOARD ELECTIONS

CHANGE IN SYSTEM NOT FAVOURED SOUTH AUCKLAND BOARD REJECTS PROPOSAL (New Zealand Press Association) HAMILTON, July 21. A proposal that the Government be asked to pass legislatioh to enable parents of school children to elect education boards was rejected by the South Auckland Education Commission today. It was presented by Mr F. J. Dunbar (Hamilton), who said the proposal was an attack on a system, and not on any person. The system of election of boards by school committees dated from 1877. “I feel that this question is due for review,” he said. “Parents in 1953 arebetter organised to have a say in the election of board members.” Describing the existing method of election, Mr Dunbar said that in an area of, say, 35,000 people, there were about 20,000 adults. At elections 100 or so school committeemen decided who should represent the 35,000 —"too much power in the hands of too few.” Mr J. M. McWhannell (Hamilton) said the committee members were a select 100 already chosen by the parents. People had become more edu-cation-conscious in recent years, but there were still some schools in which few parents were sufficiently interested to elect school committees. It would take a vast sum, needed for other education work, to run an election. Moreover, politics had been completely obliterated from the education system, and he believed that this element would enter if the proposal were adopted.