School Increases Fee To Provide Gymnasium

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30602, 19 November 1964, Page 1

School Increases Fee To Provide Gymnasium

After nearly 90 minutes’ discussion, the Riccarton High School board decided last evening to increase the school general purposes fee as follows: one child in family at the school, from £1 7s 6d to £3; two children, £2 5s to £3 10s; three children, £3 to £4. The increases have been made to provide quickly about £lOOO required to qualify for the full Government subsidy on the gymnasium the school hopes to build next year. The Education Department has approved a grant of £4OOO toward changing rooms, but the school must raise £4500 to get the maximum subsidy of £9OOO on the main building. The total cost is estimated at £lB,OOO. In the last month a straw vote of parents indicated that they preferred a direct levy instead of more fund-raising efforts, said the chairman (Mr M. C. Butler). Parents, in the seven years of the school, had given or raised about £BOOO for the cafeteria, library books, kitchen equipment, and the swimming pool and its filtration and gas chlorination plants, he said. But there was now a feeling that calls should be more equitably spread. Poll Taken A direct poll of all parents was therefore taken, said Mr Butler. Sixty per cent supported an increase of £2 or more in the school fee, 30 per cent suggested a rise of £1 to £1 10s, and 10 per cent opposed an increase.

Mr Butler said there was thus a clear mandate for an increase, but it was for the board to decide. He moved a flat rate of £3 a family, regardless of how many children were at the school.

In the long debate that followed there were many attempts to devise a sliding scale which would take account of the facts that larger families would get more use out of the gymnasium but that they would also have greater home expenses. Some board members felt that parents with one child at the school (the large majority) should not contribute the same amount as larger families.

The £3 blanket fee was approved, and then the decision was rescinded because of misunderstandings, and several amended scales were put to the vote before the chosen scale was agreed on.

It was made clear that the increased fees would be reviewed as soon as gymnasium finances were met, that they would include the 2s 6d-a-fam-ily Parent-Teacher Association subscription, and also the regular sports and equipment charge. The Wharenui Swimming Club offered an annual contribution to the fund in return for use of the gymnasium for winter training. Although the board seemed well disposed to this idea, it was agreed to defer a decision until other likely demands on the gymnasium were clearer.