SCHOOL COMMITTEES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19971, 13 December 1926, Page 10

SCHOOL COMMITTEES.

LACK OF FUNDS. DEPUTATION, TO MINISTER. (Special to Daily Times.) AUCKLAND, December 11. A deputation from the Auckland School Committees’ Association waited upon the Minister of Education (the Hon. R. A. Wright) this morning and placed a number of matters before him. The vice-president of the association (Mr G. Brownlee) said they had difficulty in carrying on their work owing to lack of funds. He asked that the School Committees’ Associations be subsidised by the department, or that education boards should be allowed to do so. Mr A. Scott asked that the capitation be paid on the average roll instead of on the average attendance. As the position was at present the schools were affected by local epidemics. Mr Scott urged that stationery should be provided direct to the schools, and said that it would represent a saving of 50 per cent, to the parents. As it was now, writing pads cost up to sixpence each and exercise books as much a« eightpence Practically all school books were imported, and they often went through six hands before the children got them. It would conserve the committee’s funds if the department took the matter up and supplied stationery at little more than cost price. In .reply, the Minister said he was not hopeful that Cabinet would approve of grants being made to the School Committees’ Association. In regard to school stationery he would go into the matter. The subject was one that he had already gone into to some extent, but difficulties had been experienced, and so far nothing had been done.