CAPITATION GRANTS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLIX, 16 August 1929, Page 5

CAPITATION GRANTS.

PRIMARY SCHOOLS’ REQUEST. Speaking at the quarterly meeting at Manaia last night of the South Taranaki School Committees’ Association, Dr. W. M. Thomson, said that he was of the opinion that the Education Department should be again 'asked to make an increase. This could be done in two ways, either by an increase on the present scale or grants at the present rate on the roll number, instead of on the average attendance. The latter, he thought, was preferable. School committees could not carry on at present without raising money by means of stalls, concerts, dances, etc. Mr Gamlin (Manaia) agreed that school committees did not get enough to carry on with, and said that if the capitation grants were not increased, it would be difficult to get people to go on the committees.

The chairman, Mr J. Cocker (Rawhitiiroa), said that the larger schools were even harder hit than the country ones, for the former found their capitation grants all swallowed up in a janitor’s salary. Although he agreed that there was a need for a decrease in taxation, he thought that the capitation grants to primary schools should be increased. The secondary schools, ho was of the opinion, were getting too much, and most of them had money on fixed deposit. It was decided to ask the Department to pay capitation on the roll number.