Delay with school angers board

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32536, 20 February 1971, Page 3

Delay with school angers board

The Canterbury Education Board “strongly” opposes the Education Department’s decision to defer for 12 months the calling of tenders for the Timaru Intermediate School. It will ask the Minister of Education (Mr Taiboys) to receive a deputation.

“That the project can be deferred at the stage now reached is ridiculous and places the board in an invidious position,” said the board’s chairman (Mr A. S. Murray) at its meeting yesterday morning. Mr Murray said that the deferment came after many months of delay. “The aspect which causes most concern is that the sketch plans were approved by the department and that subsequent planning was undertaken in good faith. We might well ask why sketchplan approval was given—time spent on the Timaru project by the board’s architectural staff could well have been used to advantage on other important educational projects,” Mr Murray said Replanning suggestion “It has now been sugges ted that replanning be under taken in an effort to reduci the cost of the project an< that the board re-examini the whole proposal an< clarify the over-all needs o

intermediate education in Timaru,” he said. As the proposal had been under action by the board and the department since 1967 and as there had been no change in the situation in Timaru any need for reexamination should have been raised long before now, he said. Mr Murray said that during protracted negotiations costs had risen rapidly and the estimate would now need to be revised yet again. Mr A. Manning, who represents the Timaru ward, said that about $40,000 had been spent in planning the site and development. Th? board could prove the facts of the case and he was sure the board could not be accused of muddling. Timaru remained the only city in New Zealand without an intermediate school. Mr R. K. Milne said that I if the Government had not . the money for the project at I present it should be honest f enough to say so.