NEW SCHOOL FOR PETONE.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIII, Issue 27, 1 February 1907, Page 4

NEW SCHOOL FOR PETONE.

TgHE EDUCATION BOARD'S VIEWS. CHAIRMAN~ON SATURNALIAS. The proposal of the Education Board to e,Kecfc a new school at West Petone was the subject brought before the board by a deputation from that town yesterday afternoon. It was introduced by Mr. Wilford, M.H.R., and consisted of Meesrs. G. London (Mayor), R. C. Kirk, A. Coles, and R. Mother. The deputation urged that effect should be given to ttuit resolution, and Mr. Wilford declared that the people of Petone wete united in their opinion on the subject. The proposed school on the Wilford Set-; tlement would not fulfil the requirements at' present, although it might- be valuable in time to come. 3lr. London stated that settlement was progressing at a very 'fast pace in the weStward direction at Petone, and he ha 3no hesitation in saying that during tie next twelve months progress would \>e greater in that direction than in any . other part of Petone. The chairman (Mr. R. Lee) pointed out thai the establishment of a new school jneant the formation of a new school district, besides which the matter was one for the department to consider. * .Sir. Wilford said it was understood tlhai the Government had refused the xjpeessary grant. Subsequently, a letter was' read from the Minister for Education declining the request of the board for a grant for the purchase of a site at West Petone, on the ground that it was immutable. ' The chairman leferred to criticisms irhich at the public meeting at Petone on Saturday night had been passed on his action, and remarked that the meeting was the usual kind of Saturday night " saturnalia-" A number of the lads and lasses of Petone formed the meeting, ■which was addressed by the chairman of file echool committee, and a resolution•was passed in accordance with the suggestion made at the meeting, while he nim--gelf was called over the coals for having, an opinion of his own on the board. It' was absurd to suppose that he or any', other member of the board could Jiot take his own course of action on matters, which came before the board. They" said that he might have known what the. public opinion on the subject was. It. was not a question of public opinion, it was a question of establishing another school district in the Hutt Valley, and, he would just for a moment remind the/ board that, when all was said and done, the business of the board was to provide for the future- of the Hutt Valley, and no^ cne could, survey tho .whole area without seeing that it would require accommodation at certain points, and the only reason for opposing the* western site at Petone, jwas that it was in. the .w,rong i>lace. tCho jphief point made "by the pople of Petone was that the new site was in the most settled part* of the town, but to his 'mind that was no argument ai all. If they, ■examined the map. it trould be seen that too part .was any great .'distance from the,' Win school. If the Vaßay was to be properly^ schooled, the second school should be cut ont of that district in such a way as to provide for the future of the Valley, and if they were to do that ifc would be impossible to put it on the. site. To do that would be to play up to the parochial view of the people of Petone. People told them that they ought to take the voice of the people and act upon It. That was not the line at all. They were there to isenre thp interests of the whole of tho education district, and if any one' was to "be considered more than another, it was not those who were close to a school at Eetone, but those who lived in the central part Qf the*Va)lfyj -Jife wsfi more than ever satisfied that it would Ye a mistake to put a school on the proposed eile, and as the Education Department positively declined to acknowledge that it was a suitable - «vr or in a suitable •Jocality, the question was one for the board to solve. Were they going to be advised by the Minister and the InspectorGeneral and other officials, who had seen the site for themselves, or were' they to take the public opinion and pat a 6chool in a position which would tcrvc iso other purpose than being a little nearer than the present school to a certain section of the people* He vas absolutely certain that "the Minister for Educat jop had given a very proper reply in refusing to adopt that site, and if they accepted that as a fair reply, their bufiness-as a board was to look about and find the most suitable site for the new'isch'ool. He W3.S represented by the' people of Petone as wanting to pat tho new school in the Hjitt. Tiat was wrong. He simply urged that it should be more in the centre of the Valley, in a position which would meet, the requirements of the children who weii? some distance from tho school, and that was the' "centre of the Valley. Mr. MilonaliT said he voted against the western site on the pievioue occasion, but circumstances had very considerably changed since then. At that time he was advocating the amalgamation of the two borotcgh,!r. but he was sow satisfied that that could not" be brought about for a very long time at any rate. In that case Le was prepared to accept the general opinion. The^ general opinion of the liutt. Petone, Korokoro, and all round the district appeared to be, from what he could gather, in favour of the western cite. He wonld move that the Minister for EJ-qcation be oaked lo reconsider his decision in this matter. Any way, a pecoud school would have to be erected at Petone, and a third school would «>on he required on tho eastern side. Mr W. Allan expressed great surprise at the Minifter stating that the site was unsuitable in' regard to position and character. The Minister and the officials of the. department could not have looked at the site. It wq« » most eligible site, bein" high and dry, and located on a 6hinglc bank. He" moved: "That this Board renew its application for the purchase of the western site for an additional schc-ol at Petope, and urges the necessity of tlie case and the united deEire of the people of Petone." Mr. MTDpnald : That is my motion. Mr. Allan: Well, I will second yours. He rather deplored what the chairman had sajd about the meeting at Petone. It was held m the open air because there was no hall available, and it was scarcely fair to call it a "saturnalia."' He further urged thai Petone, by reason of its population, required a second school, irrespective of the claims of the district as B, whole. Mr. Vile opposed the motion, and Mr. Hogg apd yfr. Field supported it. On " being put to the meeting the motion was carried. -