EDUCATION BOARD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27447, 21 July 1950, Page 8

EDUCATION BOARD

Maintenance Funds

CARE IN ADMINISTRATION

The Otago Education Board has no immediate plans to approach the Government lor a special financial grant. The Wellington Education Board has decided to ask the Government for a special grant of £15,000 because it has a deficiency of £8677 and is facing a future loss of £lOls a month, as well as having commitments of £ 13,000 for work already started. The Auckland and Canterbury Education Boards are stated to be in similar circumstances. The Otago Education Board has a maintenance grant of £35,000 to cover 180 schools, and is exercising the greatest care in the administration of its maintenance funds. Although departmental grants to boards were increased substantially last year, so also were the purposes for which the grants may be used, and the wider scope of maintenance work, together with increased costs, has to a large extent nullified the benefit of the increased grant. The Otago Education Board will not curtail ordinary maintenance, but some of the “ extras ” for which school committees apply will have to be deferred. A recent example was the board’s approval of the erection of bicycle shelters in country schools. It soon found that the expenditure on these was running into a substantial amount, and the erection of shelters which had not already been started had to be cancelled. In the wider scope of the maintenance grant, the Otago Education Board has to meet such expenditure as is involved in the purchase of sites for new schools up to a value of £2OO, school equipment, and for the maintenance of the board’s offices and workshops. The grant now covers the 180 schools in the board’s district, as well as the Training College, manual training buildings, dental clinics, and teachers’ and caretakers’ residences. For anything in the way of capital expenditure over £2OO the board can apply to the Government for a special grant covering the complete amount, but if a maintenance job costs more than £2OO it has to be financed out of the ordinary maintenance funds. Minor capital works are thus the responsibility of the board. The maintenance grant is made on the basis of floor space and varies with each education board. The basis is Is a square foot for classroom space only of public schools, manual training schools, lecture rooms and laboratories at training colleges. It is Is a square foot for the total floor space of assembly halls, teachers’ and caretakers’ residences, dental clinics, and the board’s offices and workshops. The cost of equipment and furniture, except new furniture and furniture needed for extensions, is also a charge on maintenance. Under the Education Act Amendment of 1949, the maintenance fund consists of money granted out of public funds or otherwise made available for the maintenance and repair of schools and teachers’ residences (including the repair and renewal of buildings, furniture, and fences, and also alterations and small additions to buildings), and for the maintenance of the board’s offices and workshops, for the rent of school sites or buildings, and for the maintenance of school grounds. , . School committees have their own funds granted by the board, and they are expected to provide such things as chalk, cleaning equipment, stationery and incidentals, heating and lighting, and sanitary services. The money is supplied from the school committees incidental fund, which is a separate grant made to the board by the Education Department for the general expenses of schools.