Difficulties with fees increase

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33381, 13 November 1973, Page 16

Difficulties with fees increase

A recent decision by the Rangiora High School Board of Governors to increaes hostel fees by $75 to $6OO per annum per pupil is already causing difficulties for both parents and school administrators. At a meeting of the board on Tuesday evening, a letter was received from the parent of three boarders who was disturbed to hear that hostel fees had risen to $2OO per term. “This is a big increase especially when one considers the alternatives of private board or travelling from home each day,” the parent said. “The school fees are regulated as to the number of children attending in one family, and I thing the same should apply to hostel boarders/* The headmaster (Mr T. M. Penny), said it was a prob-

lem, as the hostel was not keeping its head above the water. “Even with the increase in fees we will barely break even. “It is a matter of how far our charity will go, because this will be the forerunner of other requests. Any allowance made to this family would make it harder to run the hostel. “On the other hand to lose three boarders would not do us any good either,” Mr Penny said. “One of the reasons for the fees increase was the low number of boarders,” the chairman of the hostel committee (Mr C. C. Ayers) told the meeting. "We may lose out if we don’t make any reduction, in that the boys may be taken away,” he said. The letter was referred to the hostel committee for consideration.