[published daily] THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23,1893. EDUCATION BUILDINGS.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XXVI, Issue 2542, 28 September 1893, Page 2

[published daily] THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1893. EDUCATION BUILDINGS.

The straits of the Wanganui Education Board, m respect of money for buildings, are plainly Bet forth by the Wanganui Chronicle of Wednesday's issue. In another column we give an extract from our contemporary scheduling the uiore urgent demands ot the district. These, it will be 6een, amount to upwards of JE6OOO. There are others not urgent totalling m round numbers JSOOO. Apart trom these demands for the future, the Board now has an overdraft on building account of £2000. Putting aside the works not urgent, the present absolute needs of the Board thus total £8000. The Minister of Edncation has informed tbe Board that the outside amount it may expect from the sum set down for sohool bmiaings is £2800 ! Commenting on this announcement, the Chronicle says : — 11 Deduoting from tbis sum the amount of the overdraft, and adding thereto the amounts voted at Tuesday's meeting, the Board will have eorue £250 left to meet all the demands of the year. Why, the single item of painting would alone cost £1500, if all the schools were painted this year — and oertainly Bouie of them want it badly enough. The practice of the Board hitherto has been to paint one-third of tbe schools every second or third year ; and as it is now two years since any painting has been done, £500 should be devoted to that purpose this year. Tbeu there are new school buildings and teachers' residences urgently required, repairs to old buildings, grounds, fences, school furniture, and the hundred and one small requirements that are constantly cropping up. All to be met out of the small balance of £250 which the Board have left for carrying out the operations of the year. The thing is obviously absurd. Either every application from necessitous quarters will have to be met next year with the stereotyped answer, ' No funds,' or the members of the Board will have to obtain an overdraft at the Bank, at their own personal risk, with the hope of wiping it off when they get another vote sufficiently large for the purpose. What the Government say to the Board is praotically this —Yon must get into debt for tbis year's buildings, and next year we will do what we can to help yon to wipe off tbe debt, witl^ the view of repeating the operation in the year following. The Government are tempting the Board to break the law at their own risk, One year a circular is issued to tbe Boards warning them of the risk and responsibility they incur in overstepping tbe law in order to obtain an overdraft at the Bank, but at the same time tbo amount granted to them for urgent works is euch tbat they are forced to disobey and to borrow or forego all works altogether." We fancy by what has transpired from time to time tbat in Taranaki and Wellington districts tba same lamentation will arise, so that the outlook for country settlers, who have children growing up, is certainly very dispiriting, and the die* appointment will be tbe keener owing to tbe promises held out that this year better if not adequate provision would be made for education buildings. Tbe first euquiry whioh suggests itself is : On wbat basis are this year's votes being distributed ? Out of the consolidated fund £30,000 has been voted, and out of the public works fund £15,CJ0. Of this large sum of £45,CD0, Wanganui district is to get but £2800. We can only assume that the votes are being distributed to the various districts in proportion either to the total population or to tbe number of children on the school rolls. If this be so then not only is aa injustice being done to such districts as Waoganui, in which settlement of the Crown lands is progressing rapidly, creating extraordinary demands upon the Education Boardß, but we fear wasteful and unnecessary expenditure is being encouraged in other parts of the colony, where but little land is being opened up, and the necessities are less pressing. This aspect of tbe matter should at any rate be looked into. With the means at disposal tbe votes appear to be as large as they could reasonably be expected to be. We doubt whether £45,000 will be available next year. But it is of no use voting a large sum if it is to be distributed on the pnncipl9 of giving to those who already have. Tbe finances simply will not stand tbat sort of thing now-a-days.