HIGH SCHOOL BOARD

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28888, 7 May 1959, Page 13

HIGH SCHOOL BOARD

Staff Representation

Discussed

Staff representation on the board of governors was not necessary or desirable; the staff of Christchurch Boys’ High School was quite happy with the past experience and working of the board and was satisfied with the headmaster acting in liaison with the board, said the headmaster of the school (Mr J. Leggat) when he reported staff discussions to the meeting of the board of governors held yesterday. “They feel the constitution of the board is such that it is representative of people interested in the welfare of the school. They also feel that the staff should form an electorate of its own without having a listening post, as it were, on the board,” he said.

Mr Leggat said he gathered from the feeling of the staff meeting that it did not wish to be represented on the board by an actual member of the staff. The staff did, however, believe that as an interested body it might be able to select persons interested in the school as on some boards there ' were persons who knew little about their schools, he said. Mr C. H. Perkins agreed that the issue of staff representation was not one which concerned just one board but those of a large number of schools.

It was decided to refer the recommendations of the staff . meeting back for further consideration and % clarification. The new gymnasium will be named the James Leggat Gymnasium in honour of the present headmaster. This was decided on a motion by Mr R. Compton. All of a man’s name should be used in such instances and. therefore, it would be reasonable to give the new gymnasium Mr Leggat’s full name instead of just his surname, he said. The chairman (Mr C. H. McPhail) said the name was very fitting and showed the esteem in which Mr Leggat was held. He hoped the building would not be called “Jim’s Gym.”