KING EDWARD TECHNICAL SCHOOL

Otago Witness, Issue 4085, 28 June 1932, Page 5

KING EDWARD TECHNICAL SCHOOL

BOARD OF MANAGERS The monthly meeting of the Board of Managers of the King Edward Technical School was held on Tuesday ; present Messrs T. Scott (chairman), L. Sanderson, W. G. Baird, J. Horn, J. J. Marlow, E. F. Duthie, G. Clark, W. Steele, J. H. Wilkinson, W. W. Batchelor, C. J. Hayward, Mrs Cumming, and Mrs W. Herbert.

It was decided to forward a letter of sympathy to the family of the late Mr C. E. George. The I* inance Committee recommended the payment of accounts as follows: — Accounts, £lB4 15s lid; salaries, £991 10s Bd. A number of reductions in salaries of the staff was also recom-mended.—-The report was adopted. An extract was read from the Gazette, freeing educational authorities from the obligation to reduce rentals of land on lease.

Letters were read with respect to the closing of the Wellington and Dunedin Training Colleges, asking for the cooperation of the board in securing positrons for the lecturers whose services must necessarily be dispensed with. A list was forwarded of teachers who will lose their positions. As these teachers had lost their positions through no fault of . their own the department was of opinion that they should be reappointed by transfer to any positions for which they were suitable.—The letters were referred to the Appointinents Committee. The secretary of the Otago Education Board wrote intimating that meetings of protest had been held against the closing of the Dunedin Training College.—The chairman said it was a great blunder on the part of the Minister of Education to close the training colleges at Wellington and Dunedin. There was no need whatever for it, and it would be a serious matter for pupils who had purposed going through the colleges. Pupils from Invercargill would have to go to Christchurch. He was pleased that the deputation had gone to Wellington to urge the retention of the college in Dunedin. He understood that Mr Downie Stewart was prepared to give the deputation considerable help in the attitude it was taking up. The secretary of the National Council of Women wrote asking for representation of the board on the council. The writer set out the aims of the council. Twenty-five societies were represented on the council, and the council would -be glad to welcome a delegate from the board. Miss Wilson was appointed to represent the Technical School. The chairman reported on the meeting, held on the previous evening, which he had attended, with Mr Marlow and Mr Aldridge, on behalf of the board. The aim of the meeting, he said, was to support unification of local control of education in preference to centralisation. PRINCIPAL’S REPORT. - The principal’s report for June contained these clauses:— School Heating.—'The automatic stoker recently installed has given valuable service during the past four weeks. Double thermostatic control was not fully in operation until a fortnight ago. Since then it has lieen shown that an almost ideal even temperature can he maintained throughout the school. On still days the boiler needs to be heated to 120 degrees, on windy days to 140 degrees, in order to produce a room temperature of 55 degrees. Under a system of coke firing a .temperature of 140 degrees was never reached, but the new heater can maintain it, using only the second speed of fuel feed. The improved conditions are much appreciated throughout the school, except in the Thomson wing, where there must be a fault of long standing in the installation itself. Mr Davies discovered that the supply in that part of the school was totally inadequate, which seems to indicate" that it never could have passed a satisfactory test. Even with the present stoker running on full speed, and with twothirds of the radiators in the school shut off, the circulation uvas not satisfactory in the Thomson wing. Mr Davies had undertaken to advise the board what should be done to improve the circulation, but unfortunately he suffered an accident to his leg a fortnight ago, and has been unable to complete his investigations.

Office and Caretakers’ Salaries.—The full text of the Finance Act, received since last board meeting shows that the board has no option but to reduce the . salaries of the office and caretaking staff as from April 1 last. Clause 8 (i) of the same Act permits the Minister of Finance to levy a third reduction on incidental grants equal in amount to the reduction due under the above heading to office and caretakers* salaries. The Education Department has assured the board that this third reduction will not be levied in 1932.

Rents.—The rents payable and receivable by the board are liable to alteration.

Scholarships.—The effect of the same Act is also to reduce in number or in value scholarships earned by pupils attending the Technical School. Callander scholarships can continue at the old rate for a year or two because of accumulations of interest that took place previous to 1926. The Burt trade scholarships will fall in value at once, and, as the board already is aware, the anonymous donor of the home science bursaries has notified that their award must cease for the present.