THE ALTERATION OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 12853, 29 April 1905, Page 6

THE ALTERATION OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir—With reference to your local in this morning's paper re Woodside School Committee's election, a further explanation is due to the public and other school committees, and that is this: 1 do not dispute th.j power of the Board to alter the limits of school districts, but when the Board do lis so in a certain manner by the combination of parte of districts, the Board must comply with section 48 of the Education Act, 1904, which reads as follows:—" 1. When any school district shall be divided into two or more such districts, or two or more such districts or parts of districts shall be combined into one such district, then every such division of a .school district, and every such combination shall, for tho purposes of this Act, be deemed a new school district, and the proceedings shall be taken in like manner as hereinafter provided for school districts originally constituted. 2. The formation of any new district by the division or combination of any existing school district or districts shall take effect on arid after the commencement of the school year nest following the date on which the formation of such new school district shall have been agreed to by a resolution (if the Board." A "school year" shall be from th« first day of January to the 31st day of December, both days inclusive, in eai'ii year. The matter in dispute seems to bo whether the Board has merely altered the limits, or whether it has constituted a new district according to the Act, by the combination of parts of districts, as 1 maintain. When the Board extends the limits of the Papatoetoe eohool district by taking a portion of the Woodside school district and curtails the limits of Papakura school district by putting a portion of that district, on to the Woodside district, the Board forms a new district according to ''.lie Act by combining the remainder of Woodside. district not absorbed by the new district of Pap&tootoe with that portion of Papakura district thrown off. The Board resolved to do this on February 22, 1906, audi it was advertised, a fortnight- ago in the papers, " the amended boundaries" of each district in a different newspaper. Mr, V. 11. Lupton in his address stated thai lawvers differ in their opinions, and it pays them to differ."' Perhaps .so, but in regard to that, in my humble opinion, why lawyers may seem to differ is that clients do not fairly and clearly state their rases to them; and Messrs. Read and Bailey's opiniou, as quoted by him. was only oil an ordinary altered or amended boundary of schorl districts Thanking yon in anticipation of this being inserted.—l am. etc., H. J. C. MACMII.I-AX, Chairman Woodside School Committee, April 27.