School staff approved

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32563, 24 March 1971, Page 1

School staff approved

(By our education reporter)

The Government yesterday approved the employment of nine domestic staff at the South Island’s only residential school for disturbed children, the McKenzie School in Christchurch.

The school has been unable to accept pupils since it was opened by the Department of Education a month ago, because of a Government freeze on the employment of such staff.

Only one day before the official opening of the $lOO,OOO school on February 1, the Government announced that a ceiling was being imposed on the numbers of domestic staff that could be employed at such institutions. This meant that no pupils could be accepted for the school which wall cater for 25 children from the South- Island and the southern part of the North Island. The decision reached by the Cabinet yesterday afternoon will mean that the positions of matron, housemasters

and other domestic staff can be advertised. Once the appointments have been approved by the school's advisory committee, of which the district senior inspector of primary schools (Mr B. R. Wilson) is chairman, the school will be able to open. The process of advertising for staff and formal acceptance is expected to take more than a month, and in .the meantime the three teachers and the principal employed by the Department of Education will do work on the intake of pupijs.