OTANE STANDS FIRM

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXIII, Issue 210, 18 August 1933, Page 5

OTANE STANDS FIRM

SCHOOL BALL HOLIDAY ARGUMENT. COMMITTEE’S REPLY TO EDUCATION BOARD. Disapproval of the methods which the board had used relative to the closing of the school for the annual school ball was made by the Otane School Committee to the Huwke's Bay Education Board to-day. At the previous meeting of the board the committee wrote explaining why the school was closed, and pointed out that the local hall was engaged every Friday evening. Being unable to make other arrangements the ball was held on Thursday evening, July 6, and as a large number of the children attending the school travelled long distances it was deemed advisable to close the school the following day. The board in reply had advised that the closing of the school was a breach of the board’s by-laws and that must not be permitted to recur. The secretary of the committee wrote as follows:— A copy of a letter sent by your board to the headmaster has been received by my committee. Before dealing with the holiday question my committee wishes to express its emphatic disapproval of the methods you have used relative to the matter. In the first place, contrary to all usage, you publicly censure this committee without previously asking for any explanation and in the second place correspondence was carried on between your board and our headmaster regarding what was eutirely the responsibility of this committee. The holiday was granted by this committee not by the beadmaster, who, apart from acquiescing in the arrangement for the good of the school, was not'implicated. It is not, of course, any concern of this committee what instruction you give those nominally in your employment, but to instruct a gentleman that something for which he was not responsible must not occur again and then send on to the responsible party a copy of this decision is a procedure we trust you will explain. “Coming to the holiday itself, we have given this holiday on various occasions in the past, relying on the rule as it would be commonly interpreted. It was definitely and indisputably in the children's interest that they should have a holiday. You deny them this. ‘ It must then logically follow that the strict enforcement of a very dubious interpretation of a by-law becomes of more moment to your board than the welfare of the children. From the wording of the by-law there can be no doubt that it was meant to have a wide application. After enumerating various functions it finishes with the words; ‘Other functions.’ ‘On account of’ should surely be read in such a way as to make the holiday granted by us quite legal. It was ‘on account of’ the ball function that the holiday was given. Why should your board make a hidden meaning puzzle out of a bylaw? This committee and all other committees are in a better position than your board to decide what constitutes a function worthy of a holiday, and so long as the four days are not exceeded, what does your board hope to profit by prohibiting owing to ambiguity of a by-law, which really does not concern it? Your board gives absolutely nothing—the schools lose a privilege, which in our case, when the hall u never available on a Friday night, is a very real one. The points raised and the questions asked in this letter are to be taken as a defence of our action.'* SHOULD ENCOURAGE BALLS. “I am of the opinion that any school ball should be held on a Friday night,’’ said the chairman, Mr O. A. Maddison. “The children go to school for the purposes of receiving education but nevertheless I think that these functions are an essential part of school life.” Mr R. C. Sainsbury: But the hall was not available for the Friday night in this case. These functions are held to raise funds for the school and they should not be discouraged. Rev. F. L. Frost: 1 cannot see that it makes any difference when a school ball is held as the children lose a certain amount of education in any case. Tile chairman: I am most sympathetic with tho committee in their efforts, but 1 think that if wo are going to agree that one school may have a holiday we must embody in our by-laws a provision that all schools shall have a holiday after their annual school ball. Mr Sainsbury: That would be a good thing, too. It was decided that an answer be I r hi the hands of the chairman and •hi •eciel.iry.