THAT SCHOOL SITE

Evening Star, Issue 19723, 25 November 1927, Page 6

THAT SCHOOL SITE

TO THE , EDITOR. Sir, —I understand that at the meeting of tho Otago Harbor Board, to be held to-night, the agreement with the Education Board regarding the site of the Albany Street School is to be further discussed. It is rumored that several of the members intend the agreement made in connection with tho site grantedjror the Albany Street School in lieu of the area given up at Logan Park. I trust, sir, that tho members of the board will agree to cany through the arrangement made, even though that agreement was not under the seal of the board. As one who took some action in securing the Logan Park area for recreation purposes, 1 appreciate tho action of the Education Board in giving up its right to portion of that area, and .1. consider that the citizens must do all in their power to see that the agreement inade is carried through in an honorable manner by the Harbor Board.—l am, etc., Cnosnr Monuis. November 25. '■ The following letter • lias been addressed to all the members of the Otago Harbor Board ‘‘Dear sir,—-As tho Albany Street School Site Committee of the, Otago Education Board, wo desire to draw your attention to the following:— “in 192-1 your board offered the Otago Education Board tho site at the foot of Albany street as an exchange for tho site in Logan Park, previously aranged for, ami this was confirmed by your Jotter of September 12, 1924. The Otago Education Board very reluctantly agreed to accept tho "offer, which had been persistently and insistently declared by the members of your board and others as an equally good site for a school as the Logan Park one.

■ “May wo be permitted to point out that that reluctant consent of the Education Board meant a great deal to your board. It meant that the City Council took over all the liability which had been yours in connection with the park. Wo have been told that, had you been compelled to drain and road the park, the cost would have approached £BO,OOO. In addition to that, the Education Board’s withdrawal from Logan Park made the carrying of the City Council’s loan proposals a certainty. By payment of-only half the cost your board has now the Anzac highway. What that means to the value of your properties it is impossible to estimate; and your board has gained all this financially because the Education Board agreed to the exchange of sites. “ it has been stated at your board table, and elsewhere, that the Harbor Board should not bo called upon to provide sites for schools. That is a most unfair statement to make, for when negotiations were first begun the two sites were considered equal in value, and if the Education Board has now a much more valuable section it certainly has been, brought about by your board’s action. “Should the motion to be brought forward at your meeting to-night be carried, we consider it will bo a distinct breach of contract on the part of your hoard. Not a single member of your board, we believe, would think of dishonoring his signature to such a document as your board’s letter of September 12, 1924. What is dishonest in a private person is equally so in a public body. “Wo have not touched upon the value of the site as one for the erection of a school. Should it ho necessary to do so, we are quite prepared to defend the actions of the Education Board and the department. Wo are quite sure your members know more than Education Board members do about Harbor Board matters and dredging, etc. Why not give the Education Board and the department credit for some knowledge of schools and school sites? , “Wo trust you will see your way to oppose the motion to bo brought forward to-night.—Yours faithfully, J. H. Wilkinson. J. Wallace. November 25.