SCHOOL COMMITTEES.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXI, Issue 40, 17 February 1911, Page 2

SCHOOL COMMITTEES.

WHAT ARE INCIDENTAL EXPENSES ? Tho Education Amendment Act pro* vided that the grants to be made by boards for general educational purposes must include such grants for incidental expenses as defined by regulations "as shall amount in the aggregate for all the committees taken together to not less than the total amount calculated at the rate of 5s 6d for each child in average daily attendance in the education district." In last night's Gazette the necessary regulation is published. It states that the incidental expenses shall include expenditure under the following heads : A (1) Cleaning — namely, the complete ! and regular cloaning and keeping in order of buildings, furniture, fixtures, apparatus, and appliances in all the school premises, including class-rooms, teachers' rooms, passages, lavatories, libraries, laboratories, workshops, outbuildings, drains, water-tanks, wells, and other appurtenances of the school premises (exclusive of repairs rendered necessary by fair wear-and-tear) ; the performance of sanitary and other services, the cost of requisites for cleaning; and the cost of fumigation, when ordered by the Health Officer or otherwise deemed necessary. (2) Heating— namely, cost of fuel and other items connected with the heating of the school premises, sweeping chimneys, replacing of coal-scuttles, fireirons, etc. (3) Lighting, water-service, and sanitary service : all expenditure on these items when necessary (excluding cost of mstalment or replacing of fittintr S and cost of water-supply to echool baths). (4) Grounds : repair and keeping in, order of the school grounds, fences, hedges, gates, and paths (including the clearing of gorse, broom, briar, and all noxious weeds, but not including the cost of replacing worn-out fences and gates, nor the repair and keeping in order of the teacher's garden or of tho school glebe). (5) Repair of all buildings, furniture, fixtures, apparatus, and appliances on school premises that are rendered necessary by wilful or careless damage, and generally all small repairs otfier than those due to fair wear-and-tear, fire, earthquake, or storm. (6) Stationery : the cost of ali stationery such as ink, pens, slates, slatepencils, erasers, chalk, blackboard dusters, blotting paper, and other similar requisites, except paper and exer-cise-books used in school for school purposes, and all paper required for examination purposes ; cost of stationery used for the transaction of t-he business of the School Committee. B. Further, the incidental expenses of school committees may include, at the discretion of the board — (a) The cost of all paper and other stationery used in school for school purposes. (b) The salary of a caretaker appointed to have custody of tho school buildings and to perform all or any of the duties indicated above; rent of caretaker's quarters, and all repairs to the same. (c) The cost of water-supply to school baths. C. Further, if provision has been made for the cost of all the items specified in A, school committee allowances may be expended as the board shall direct for school libraries, for pictures for the school walls, for asphalting and other improvement of the school premises.