SCHOOL COMMITTEES

Grey River Argus, 13 May 1935, Page 2

SCHOOL COMMITTEES

West Coast Assn.

ANNUAL MEETING. The annual meeting of the West Coast School Committees’ Association was he'd in Bevington’s Hotel, Greyniout’h, on Saturday afternoon, there being present: Messrs R. R. Smith.. T. Morgan (Taylorville), J. 11. Brailsford, J. S. Ford, U. J. Met trick (Cobden), T. Smithers (Stillwater), L. 11. Witherington (Kumara Junction), H. Campbell (Kaiata), 11. J. Aldridge and C. L. Thompson (I‘ros - . dent and Secretary of the . Greymouth Home School Association) and the Secretary (Mr A. E. Morgan. Grey Main. Mr R. R. Smith Was voted to the

In reply to the Association’s letter regarding the closing of the schools during the past summer, the Canterbury Education Board wrote stating that, owing to the short notice given by the Minister, it was not possible to circularise all school committees, but the closing had been advertised in all Wes't Coast papers, and that should have been sufficient notice for the com mi t tees.

The Dominion Executive of the Federated School Committees’ Association forwarded a review of the matters and correspondence dealt with, at tho meeting.

The Secretary presented the following annual report:— President and Gentlemen, I have much pleasure in presenting the first, annual report of the West Coast School Committees’ Association. The Association was formed on the 7th October of last year, and the Association has justified its existence by improving the facilities of various schools by it>» representations. By far

tho most important event of the year was our affiliation with the. parent body, the Dominion Federation, a very influential body with its own Parliamentary Committee domiciled at. Wellington to make direct representations to Parliament on our behalf. The Association was fortunate in being able to finance sending a representative to the conference of t-'he Dominion Federation held n,t Timaru ami various useful remit. -j were submitted and dealt with,, of which we were the authors. The initial expenses .in forming the Association were high, hut considering what has been accomplished in the first year, and what can be accomplished in the future, it was well worth the expense involved. 'the Association has now 34 affiliated Committees, with the possibility of enrolling more. There has been an enormous amount of correspondence dealt with during the year and a lot of it I considered was necessary to have typed both from a business and convenience point of view. To have it all typed it was a continual source of expense, and in order to conserve our funds, 1, borrowed a typewriter, which I have used for several months, f would recommend the purchase of a machine as soon as funds permit, as it would in time pay for itself, iv nd would always be an asset to the Association. The next annual conference of the Dominion Federation is to be held in Palmerston North, and it may be necessary to devise ways and means of raising the necessary funds to finance sending a, delegate to represent the Coast, as I am sure it would not fie the wish of the Association to shirk its responsibilities in this respect, and appoint a proxy. If the Association formed a habit of appointing proxies the parent body would quickly become non-exist-ent. It has been freely discussed at our meetings the necessity of changing the. venue of our meetings to stimulate interest in our activities, and it is necessary to maintain a fund to meet this expense besides other items of expenditure. Considering what has been accomplished, meeting the initial expense and financing the sending of a representative to the conference and winding up with a credit balance of £1 17s (id on the whole I consider it has been a very successful first year. In conclusion I wish to thank ’ the press far (t.heir assistance and also t'he Grey Main School Committee and caretaker for the use of the school for our meetings.

The statement of receipts and expenditure for the year ended March 31st, 1935, showed that the only receipts were 34 affiliation fees, £l5 15s am] the expenditure as follows: Affiliation fee to the Dominion Federation. £2 2s; delegate’s expenses to conference. £6; delegate’s expenses to Blackball, 6s; printing and typing £2 7s; stationery, £1 2s 3d; postage and telegrams £1 10s 3d; leaving a credit balance of £1 17s 6(1. The Chairman said that in view of the activities of the Association, principally through their Secretary, and the inevitable expense involved in the initial stages, they had come out of the year very well. The report and balance sheet was adopted ami on the motion of Mr Ford it was decided that in future the report should be printed or multigraphed and a copy sent to each affiliated committee.

On tho motion of Mr Witherington and the Chairman, it was decided that the Association’s appreciation of the work of the Secretary, be recorded in the minutes.

Following a discussion, it was deeided( on the motion of Messrs Ford ami Brail .-’ford, that it be a recommendation to affiliated school committees to form sub-associations in suitable districts, such as Hokitika, with a view to their meeting prior to Executive meetings, and forwarding on their suggestions and remits.

Referring t () the Education Board elections. Mr Ford said that he considered they should 'have at least one man in view whom they could nominate in case of an urgent election. It was a matter, however, that could be left to the Executive. The Chairman suggested that the meeting mack a recommendation to the Executive Committee to go into the question of finding suitable nominees’ and report to the next meeting.

Mr Ford said that he considered the Association should have more co-opera-tion with the local Education Board members. However, in the present case it was largely their own fault. It was decided to leave the matter to the incoming Executive Committee to explore from all angles and to report to the next quarterly meeting. REMITS, It was decided to forward the following remits for consideration at the conference of the Dominion Federation to be held probably in September: (1) That instead of dental treatment being limited to Std. 4, that it should be left to the discretion of the dental nurse, to decide by the state of t'he child’s teeth when treatment in tne school clinic should cease. (2) That the capitation grants

should be based on roll numbers and not on average attendance for districts and provinces at climatic, and geographical disadvantages Io other districts. 1

(3) That homework should be considerably curtailed and that in no case should homework of a fatiguing nature be imposed on children in primary schools.

(4) That the size of classes in primary schools be limited to 35 pupils and in all cases where classes exceed 30, no teacher should fie called upon to teach more than one cl’ Lt *' ELECTION OF OFFICERS. The election of officers for the enduing year resulted as follows:—President, Mr J. S. Ford (Cobden); VicePresidents, Messrs R. JR. Smith (Taylorville) and J. H. Brailsford (Cobden); Secretary-Treasurer, Air A. E. Morgan (Grey Alaiity re-elected); Executive Committee, Officers and Messrs T. Morgan (Taylorville), L. JI. Witherington (Kumara Junction), T. Smithers (Stillwater), It. A. Barrowman (Grey Main), 11. CJampbell (Kaiata), and W”. Sweeney (Hokitika); Auditor, Mr 11. Herring (re-elected).

The Secretary said that Messrs Aldridge and Thompson had put in a great deal of meritorious work for the Grey Main School, through the Home and School Association and he moved that they be made life members. The motion was carried.

Messrs Aldridge and Thompson both returned thanks for the honour conferred upon them.

The Secretary said that it had been intended to have a discussion on the New Zealand Educational Institute’s pamphlet “Order Out of Chaos,” which, recommended the abolition of the present Board system and the establishment of a National Board of Control for education, but he did not think personally, that he was yet sufficiently conversant with the pamphlet to pass a definite opinion on it.

Mr Smith said that at the last meeting of the Executive, Air Menzies, of Hokitika, representing the N.Z.E.1., had drawn their attention to h»ome remarkable anomalies, but his time had been very limited. Like the Secretary he did not feel disposed to express an opinion at the present juncture. Air WitheringjtiOii inioved that Air Afenzies be asked to attend another meeting of the Association, if necessary a special meeting, to give a further address on the pamphlet.

The motion was seconded by Air Smith and carried. On the motion of the President and Air 'Witherington it was decided that the Canterbury Education Board be written to, thanking them for the books given to the school children on the occasion of the King’s Jubilee. The meeting closed with a vote of thanks to the proprietress of Bevington’s Hotel, for the use of the meeting room, and the Press.