EDUCATION BOARD

Manawatu Standard, Volume LII, Issue 120, 21 April 1932, Page 8

EDUCATION BOARD

MONTHLY MEETING. The monthly meeting of the Wanganui Education Board was held yesterday, Mr E. Hemingway presiding in the absence of Mr W. A. Collins owing to indisposition. Others present were Messrs Oram. Adams, Aitken, Dukeson and Tingey. The architect (Mr Hodge) reported that general repairs to the teacher’s residence at Bunnythorpe and improvements to the drainage were in nand. Repairs were being made to the floor of the school building at Linton. General repairs were also being effected to the teacher’s residence at Linton, together with the repapering of two rooms and the passage. The following resignations were received:—Miss E. H. Leversedge, head teacher, Kakaramea, Mr G. A. Read, sole teacher, Main South Road; Miss L Morrison, infant mistress, College Street; Miss E. M. Hughes, infant mistress, Huntorville; Miss G. V r ard, assistant, Kairanga; Miss E. F. Sage, assistant, Carnarvon; Miss M. A. Sutherland, head teacher, Mataroa. The architect was asked to report on the matter of a new sub-division fence between the College Street School and a neighbouring property. The agents concerned said they were quite willing to pay half the cost, and perhaps the board’s workmen could do the work cheaper than any quotation they had received. The chairman stated that the interim report submitted to tho Minister of Education on Tuesday would be released for publication towards the end of the week. . Tiro whole matter had been gone into thoroughly and some excellent suggestions had been made. The secretary stated that copies of the report would be sent to all education boards and school committees in New Zealand. It was reported that a scholar, Irene Stedmans, had attended for seven years without missing a day at Hikumutu School. The board decided to send ,a letter of congratulation to the pupil. Notification was received from the Manawatu County Council that it intended to carry out improvements to the road near the Carnarvon school. The hoard N had contributed £lO.

On the recommendation of the architect, £4 was granted the Tokorangi School Committee for drain tiles and unemployed labour' used under the No. 6 scheme to improve a creek bed.

An application for a new motor shed sent in by a headmaster was refused, the - board having never contributed towards tho cost of motor sheds.

Mr Tingev, (Feilding) gave notice of intention to move at the next meeting of the board that the chairman, Mr Hemingway, and the secretary, Mr Swanger, he thanked for their valuable services at the recent sitting of the conference of Education Boards at Wellington, a conference which he considered would be historic.

The matter of dental rooms was discussed, somef members expressing the opinion that the board was not treating all applications fairly. Some clinics were held in schools and some had to build new rooms. The matter arose from an application to hold a dental clinic in Queen’s Park School, Wanganui, in an empty room. It was decided that the clinic be allowed to use. the room, as the same procedure had been followed in several rooms in Palmerston North.

Messrs Tingev and Aitken . were strongly in favour of Mr Aitken’s motion that the time for Bible instruction bo increased to 20 minutes from 15 minutes. Mr Dukeson opposed the motion, holding that it was unfair to allow some children to play while others wer3 receiving religious instruction. Mr Adams said the board was very much in the dark about what the children did who were not taken for religious instruction, arid the matter was left to the senior inspector for a report. An election of members to the hoard will take place in July. The retiring members are Messrs W. A. Collins. W. S. Woodroofe. W. Adams, A. S. Coleman and J. S. Tingey.