SCHOOLS IN SUMMER TIME

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 17 November 1927, Page 9

SCHOOLS IN SUMMER TIME

♦- LATER OPENING AGREED TO. BOARD TO ALLOW VARIATION. At the monthly meeting of the Taranaki Education Board yesterday it was decided after a brief discussion that during the operation of the Summer Time Act, on application being made by committees under the provisions of the by-laws, permission would be granted them to vary the times of opening and closing by making them half am hour later. The ohairman( Mr S. G. Smith) explained that committees in Taranaki had no authority, without the permission of the board, to vary the school hours. Twenty-one country committees had made inquiries concerning their powers and suggesting variations of from one hour to half an hour. Several committees suggested the old time as most suitable. Although he thought it would be a pity if summer time were not given a., fair trial, Mr Smith admitted that cases of hardship among the families of farmers must be met. Mr P. J. H. White agreed that there might be a few instances of hardship, but he thought, too, that if the scheme were given a fair trial there would be very few drawbacks indeed. He had discussed the question with managers and .secretaries of dairy factories and they had said they were finding very little hardship. The board had always tried to consider the interests of the backblocks, said the chairman, and he considered that was one reason it had been successful in its efforts for education. He reminded members, however, that there were reports of children arriving at school earlier than usual. A motion, as stated above, proposed by the chaiman seconded by Mr White, was then carried.