H.B. EDUCATION BOARD.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XII, Issue 239, 22 September 1922, Page 7

H.B. EDUCATION BOARD.

The monthly meeting of the H.B. Education Board was continued in Napier yesterday afternoon. Mr G. F. •Koach presided and there were also present: Messrs W. Oates, J. C. Thomson, G. Crawshaw, W. Cuthbertson, A. King, A. W. Hamilton, G. W. Venables, G. McKay, R. Soundy, J. R. Kirk. TN COMMITTEE. Accounts amounting to £12,479 7s 3d were passed for payment. The statement of funds showed a balance on current account of £4936 13s 2d, and on deposit £4500. The medical officer (Dr. Clark) reported that he had visited Poukawa, where the light was so cut out by trees that he could hardly see the condition of the children. At Napier Main the conditions were in every way satisfactory, and the physical drill was excellent. There were very few defects amongst the children. There were a few cases of mental defect who should be transferred to special classes, and ,tliat such special classes would be in early operation. After a discussion it was decided to defer the consideration of electric heating at the Napier Central School until information is procured from the Napier Borough Council. REMITS. The board decided on a number of remits to be forwarded to the annual conference. These included remits supporting increases ih staffing of infant departments of larger schools; motor cars should be allocated to inspectors where possible; drastic curtailment of hand-work supplies would itipair this branch;; conditions regarding allowances to children riding on horseback should be relaxed; the Director of Education should consider transfer of teachers from one district to another within 12 months of permanent appointment before such transfers were approved; boards should be given power to use their .discretion in appointing or keeping women teachers who are married; teachers should give two months’ notice of resignation; teachers should recognise their obligations when appointed or withdraw applications for advertised vacancies; when the salaries scale is again reviewed special allowance should be made for positions in remote or inaccessible places; the policy of establishing household schools should be continued in spite of the correspondence classes; Department should be asked to curtail the large number of returns, etc., asked for in view of tho increasing clerical work; tho concession for free railway tickets to enable children to travel from a centre where there is a public school in order to attend the nearest denominational school should be withdrawn. PROFICIENCY RESULTS. Discussing the statement of the chairman on the subject of proficiency results, which was published in the “Tribune” yesterdays the chairman (Mr Roach) said he could not allow the occasion to pass without drawing attention to it. Mr Kirk said a comma appeared to have been missed in the Minister’s report and this if inserted would give an entirely different complexion to the report. He suggested that the comma should be between the words “inspectorate” and “a” in the following passage “ The fact that in some districts there arc fairly uniform results year lifter year in spito of changes in the inspectorate goes to show that differences in the standard set by inspectors may not be the only factor in the case which is also more'or less confirmed by the fact that the district with the highest record of passes in 1921 (Hawke’s Bay), although under the same inspectorate a few years ago, produced the poorest results. 7 ’ Further consideration was deferred. GENERAL. Dr. Clark, schools medical officer, stated to the board that something was required in the matter of having the schools cleaned..- He said the large schools were kept in splendid order generally. In most of the small schools the conditions were bad. Forms were not scrubbed, nor dust properly removed. Windows were not kept open, etc. •Tho board might feel proud of the Napier Central, and Hastings street schools, and he had decided to leave the town schools and concentrate on country schools. School v.ommittce requests were dealt with as follows. •-Port Ahuriri to be painted in turn; payment for metalling at Makaretu Norrh declined as work was not authorised; grant for metalling at Matamau deferred; Anglican school iroom at Taradale to be asked for to allow the overcrowding at Taradale to be relieved, and the Department to be also asked for additions to the school which is rapidly growing.

Mahora committee advised that TJ acres had been offered for the purpose of extending the school. The price asked was £650. Mr Hamilton said the land was very badly required, and if the chance was not taken it might be years before another chance occurred tv secure land adjacent to the school. The committee thought the price asked was a little high. He believed the committee and residents would do something to help. The owner might be able to make a better bargain and would accept bonds in payment. The board decided to collect further information on these lines from the school committee. The department’s advice that a 10 per cent, reduction in maintenance giants was proposed, was received, and the chairman’s action in entering a strong protest was approved. (The letter containing this protest was published in the “Tribune.”) The Education Boards Association advised that there had been a strong protest entered. The secretary read a letter from Mr. Lysnar, a member of the Accounts Committee who recommended the reduction, advised that the matter would again be gone into. If the action was inequitable it would mean a penn ywise and pound foolish, one which was inadvisable. Tho secretary stated that the plan for the rebuilding of the school at Paki Paki had been approved. The w^en erected would be a splendid type of country school, it having hot water in the two class rooms