SCHOOL OF ART

Otago Witness, Issue 3442, 2 March 1920, Page 5

SCHOOL OF ART

AND EDUCATION BOARD FINANCES. The much deplored death "of the gifted director of the School of Art (Mr R. Haw cridge), and the question of appointing a successor, has led to the unpleasant discovery that the school is costing the Otago Education Board £SOO a year, the loss being due partly to the holding of evening classes which are open to the general public. A special committee, which has been considering the whole position, made the following recommendations to the board on the 19th:

(1) That Mr O'Keefe, Misses Hutton and Zellor be temporarily appointed to teach drawing the Training College students, pupil-teachers, and probationers,Mr O'Keefe to be placed in charge, and his salary raised to £275 per annum. (2) That, before taking any steps regarding the carrying on of the School of Art, the board endeavour to arrange a conference between representatives of the Art Society, Technical School Managers, Architects' Association, and Expansion League.

The Chairman (Mr J. Wallace), in moving the adoption of the report, said the first resolution provided for what was their first duty—the teaching of the junior teachers in training. With regard to the further question of the continuance' of the School of Art, as now carried on, there was a decided difference of opinion among members of the committee. Some members were strongly of the opinion that it was not the duty of the boarcl to provide tuition in art for the general public, and that their liability ended' with the teaching of their teatehers to teach the children. Others thought it was the board's duty to carry on the school as in the past. There had been an annual financial loss. Last year this loss wa s approximately £SOO. and, personally, he did not think the board should be asked to shoulder the whole of such a loss. Those who wished this tuition of the public to go on should be prepared to come forward and assist the board, and in this relation it should be noted that contributions from other bodies carried a subsidy with them. It wag with all these facte in view that the committee carried the second resolution. AU members of the committee were agreed that art should be taught, and the only question upon which there was a difference of opinion was: Who should.' shoulder the financial responsibility ? He thought the Otago Board was the only board in New Zealand that shouldered the responsibilty. Mr J. H. Wilkinson seconded the motion. He said he would be sorry if anything were done by the board that would stop the teaching of art, so far as It affected the general public. It had been carried on for many years, and if the financial basis were not salisfiactory it should be made so. As to the £SOO lost, only half of this was due to the evening classes. lUnless this School of Art was retained under the care of the Education Board, he reared it would drop into disuse, and if they could carry on, even af; a small he thought they should do gp, d they raised the fees for

night classes—i.e., for those who were not teacher students—this might help ..the situation. The conference proposed might result in some satisfactory solution, with the assistance of the Art Society and the other bodies. The Hon. D. T. Fleming said it would be a pity to drop the work, but certainly the board should not have to bear the whole cost. Mr Wilkinson added that if the Art Society or other bodies decided to help, the sole control would pass- from the board; but all these questions would be considered at the conference. The committee's report was adopteiJ.