TEACHERS’ ACCOMMODATION

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 18 February 1926, Page 4

TEACHERS’ ACCOMMODATION

I'ROM.EM OF OBTAINING BOARD

IX COUNTRY DISTRICTS. It having been found impossible to find board for the local teacher, the Matapu School Committee forwarded an application to the Taranaki Education Board at its meeting yesterday for a residence. In this connection Mr. A. Lees remarked that the question of procuring board for teachers was found to be acute in the dairy districts and in Matapu, Oeo, and Mangatoki lodgings ■were almost impossible to secure. He thought that the Department should have some system instituted to overcome this. He suggested the erection of a movable batch close to the school for which a rental should be charged. During the past two or three years the settlers of. Matapu had boarded the teachers, but this had not been satisfactory to either party. He had consulted the architect who thought it would be easy to erect a suitable building. A similar building erected at Okaiawa had been found most successful and the teachers preferred to live in it than to board, and the settlers had been glad to pay the rent. The architect (Mr. C. H. Moore) suggested that the board could use its maintenance money without requiring a grant. Mr. P, J. H. White thought it would be unwise to use the maintenance funds which should be spent to keep the school buildings in workable order.

Mr. R. J. Deare supported the proposal of Mr. Lees saying that something should he done for teachers in the country. Mr. Lees then moved the following resolution which was carried: “That in view of the difficulty assistant teachers have in obtaining board at many country schools, this board is of the opinion that a trial should be given in the most extreme cases of providing a moveable batch for the use of which a rental should be charged and that application should be made -to the Department to make a grant to give the foregoing system a trial.