THE NEW GIRLS' SCHOOL.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 22 April 1907, Page 2

THE NEW GIRLS' SCHOOL.

To the Editor. Sir,- The subject of tho now girl*' school may probably be referred to at Monday night's annual meeting of Nelson householders, I venture, therefore, to ask to be permitted through the "Mail" to make a few rematks as one of the members of the Board for a country district containing sixty-two schools. In a former letter which you were good enough to publish, I took up the position that at tho Education Department would not allow any portion of the Board's annual building fund to be spent on new buildings, tho new girl's school could not be orer.ted until the Department made a special grant for that particular purpose. From th.'S view one of the members cf the Tcwn Committee (the Rev. Mr Mackenzie) Eeema to dissent, and writes to you as follows :— "If the buildings are regarded as o renewal the Audit Department can say nothing ; but even if legarded as a new •school, and tho Department objected, what then V lt can do no more than object; we have got our much-needed school, and the Board suffers nothing.'' Excellent worldly reasoning, no doubt ; though I am not able to agree with it. The annual fund received by tho Board amounted to about .£:2800. The Board some time ago accepted a tender for the re-erection of the infants' school at Westport, which will possibly tako nearly £1000. The Nelson Town Schools Committee now demand, say, at the lowest, £2500 for the new girls' school. Total, £3500. What, then, will be left to keep up repairs, additions, painting, fencing, and a hundred other necessaries which are being daily required for more than one hundred schools scattered over our large Education District? This thus becomes a most serious matter to all the country Committees, and it is my bounden duty to them to do my utmost to try and prevent their just portion of the building fund being diverted to build a new girls' school iv Nelson, and especially when such is not needed, the present handsome and commodious buildings in Toi Toi Valley being everything that can possibly be wanted fot the requirements of the city for the next twenty years. Surely Parliament voted this money for the benefit of the community , at large, and never contemplated nor intended that one Bingle Ccmmitteo would be allowed to Bwallow thd wholo ; lump. However, tho Board, by a majority, has passed a resolution to call ; for tenders, Mr Beuke and myself alone ' objecting ; and it now remains to be seen wh.it will be the result. lam, etc., W.N. FPvANKLTN.