COMMITTEE RESIGNS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20156, 17 January 1929, Page 13

COMMITTEE RESIGNS.

SCHOOL AT DARGAVILLE. DISAGREEMENT WITH BQARD. A MATTER OF FINANCE. [BY TELEGRAPH. —ows CORRESPONDENT.] DARGAVILLE. Wednesday. The Dargaville school committee resigned some weeks ago after much correspondence with the Auckland Education Board for an increased grant for maintenance had failed. The board refused to accept the committee's resignation, and sent an officer up for a conference, after which the committee fully expected that more money for maintenance would be available. The officer's report came before a meeting of the board, which has now written to the committee making certain recommendations which the committee is not prepared to accept. At a meeting last night it unanimously resolved to resign and inform the board that it, was no longer responsible for th 6 management of the school affairs.

It is expected here that the board will now appoint a commissioner to manage the school until the meeting of householders next April, when the committee is usually elected. It is thought, however, that great difficulty will be experienced in getting nine persons to form a committee unless a guarantee is given by the board that a substantial increase will be made in the annual grant.

The majority of the members of the school committee have served for many years, anrl have done yeoman, service. They are still prepared to carry on if finance for ordinary maintenance is provider!. It is pointed out by the committee that the residents of Dargaville have subscribed over £IOOO during the past seven years for school purposes, and it resents a proposal by the board that the residents should be asked to make up any deficiency in the committee's commitments, which have only been spent for items as set out in the schedule provided.

The money provided by the loGal residents has been used for a proportion of the cost of the property for the new high school ground, improvements, sports materials and other school purposes. The people of Dargaville also provided the whole of the cost of the dental clinic, and although it is used by the majority of the schools within a 20-mile radius, Dargaville has provided nearly all the money for its maintenance. . THE BOARD'S NEXT STEP. STATEMENT BY CHAIRMAN. Referring to the action of the Dargaville school committee, Mr. A. Burns, chairman of the Auckland Education Board, said yesterday that the board's next step would probably be the appointing of a school manager to carry on until the committee elections in April.

The board did not wish to increase the capitation allowance to the committee, as this would be unfair to other school bodies. It had agreed to pay a water rate of £39, and had obtained a special grant of £6O for the committee from the Education Department. A small balance was still outstanding in debt by the committee, and it had been requested to raise this locally. It was regrettable that the committee still adhered to its decision to resign, but he would remind members that resignation would not absolve thejn from responsibility for debts incurred.