ANNUAL ELECTIONS OF SCHOOL COMMITTEES.

Otago Witness, Issue 1933, 12 March 1891, Page 6

ANNUAL ELECTIONS OF SCHOOL COMMITTEES.

' THE NEW MODE OF PROCEDURE.

The elections of school committees all over the colony take place next month, and as in addition to the abolition of the cumulative vote several important alterations have been made in the 'details, it will not be amiss to describe the new method for general information. Not later than the first Monday in April the Education Boards fix the date of the annual meeting of householders to elect committees, and call upon the householders to nominate persons for the new committees. Nomination papers must be in the following form :— To the chairman of School Committee. I, the undersigned, hereby nominate (Christian name and surname of candidate.) for election as member of the above sobool committee for the ensuing year. (Signature of nominator.) I hereby consent to the above nomination. (Signature of candidate.) Dated April 18 The nominations must be in the hands of the chairman on or before the third Monday in April, and npon the third Tuesday a list of the names of candidates is posted upon the outer door of fche school. If only seven are nominated they are duly elected, and the annual meeting has practically nothing to do. If less than seven are nominated they are duly elected, and the meeting nominates and elects the balance. If more than seven have been nominated, the election proceeds in the manner following : — In every school district within a borough the committee provide a ballot-box, which remains open at the schoolhonse from 0 o'clock on the day of the election until the hour of meeting, and any householder may vote during the day. In school districts not in a borough, the chairman of the existing committee receives the ballot papers, which must have the voter's name thereupon, or on a separate slip of paper attached or enclosed in an envelope, and be in the chairman's hands by 4 o'clock. The votes received during the day are taken into account at the meeting in the evening,and no person who has already voted may receive another voting paper. Any one, therefore, who votes during the day loses the anonymity of his vote, and his signature must be attested by a Justice of the Peace, a postmaster, or a State schoolmaster. The proceedings at the meeting in the evening are to be much the same as at present, except that no voter may give any candidate more than one ' vote. Only householders may take part in the election, and a householder is defined- by the act to mean any male or female person who (being the owner, lessee, or tenant) resides in any dwelling honse within the school district, and the parent or guardian or other person who has the actual custody of any child attending any State school situated wifchia such district ; and in school districts situated within a proclaimed goldfield also means and includes every holder, not being an alien, of a miner's right. The act has been so loosely drawn up that it does not limit the number of candidates any householder may nominate, and it, no doubt inadvertently, seems to permit plural voting, since a parent may be a householder in one district and be entitled ijp vote as eqqh, and the parent or guardian of children attending a school in another, and the act does not forbid him to vote in both, nor in as many more as he is qualified for. Neither does the act provide for any custodian of the ballot box during tl\e day, nor specify the form of the ballot papers. While briefly describing the new method of electing committees, we have purposely avoided raising doubtful points, in which the act appears to abound. They will become apparent in the ! actual work of administration. They may be avoided by the exercise of common sense. Possibly the act may be amended next session, and as it provides for the participation of chairmen of existing committees, who may be presumed to be conversant with the usual procedure, we do not doubt that complications may be avoided. But negligence of the preliminaries may lead to serious mischief.