SCHOOL COMMITTEES.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 13392, 28 May 1914, Page 4

SCHOOL COMMITTEES.

QUESTION OF CENTRALISATION

The suggestion of the centralisation ol' school committees and k the . doing away with the • Education / Boards 'as 'an' authority between, the Education-Depart-ment and the - School Commitees was brought under the notice of other chairmen Of school committees ' to-day -and their,., opinions were' solicited on the subject. < "•

"Ivtliiiik- it is rather a good idea," stated '_\^.W- J- McCliskie, Chairman^. the \ Ma-ngapa-pa School- Committee, ' "o I course %vith modifications. It seems that committees,., from our . own experience, have very -small powers and were simply . as it were, 'caretakers. With the very poor allowance v that we get from the [ Board, we find' that we have to m crease our funds by various means to keep things moving. To make improvein*, nts, etc., Aye cannot carry oh with the money we get from the .Board. It there were some more direct conimunication between 'the Department and tlie committees, - thejr would be able to carry -on more satisfactorily': that was provided the local l^oard had; sufficient powers to. carry on' a small local education.- district." Mr .McCliskie said he noticed 'by the last annual report of the l^oai'd to the Department that expenseswere tyeaped up, by the iipkeep, of extra bfhees, tlie expenses being more than the work warranted. A' lot of that money spent oh office expenses and general administration could be spent on educational natters to. better advantage, if inhere was a local Board something similar 1 to yjliat Orl' Porter suggested, life thought tilings- would work more smoothly. The matter was brought up at the, local School Committees' Association some months ago, when a suggestion was made that they might try and move m the direction now suggested. , A note came from Sir Kirk, saying that Ihe proposed to give a lecture, and in-; i vited all school committees to be pre- J isent. IJe was going, to outline the isystem suggested by the Education Com. j mission. ) Hie Association discussed the matter for a short time, and decided to hold it in' abeyance until Mi* Kirk had delivered his lecture. He expected to deliver it within a month, but something intervened, and tlie thing was put | off, and consequently nothing further had ,-been done -m the matter. The Association had been really waiting to hear Z\Lr Kirk's explanation, and his opinion as jto the carrying out of the system laid down by the Commission. The Associa tion,' then, rather favored something of the kind now suggested. "Not that we have any fault to find with the Education Board," added Mr. McCliskie. "As far as we are concerned the Board, has treated us very well. We have no. complaint against the Board." He said it would be well for the Association to meet again, but the tropble is there are not sufficient committees represented. At the last meeting only the Gisborne, Ivaiti, Te Hapara, and Mangapapa com-mitteei-vjvere represented. It. would be a gopd thing to get spme representation from country school connnittees as well, for it is . -t matter that' concerns tlie country committees fully as much as the town committees.

'T have heard that suggestion before from Dr. Porter,*' said Mr G. Iv. Pasley, chairman, of the Te Hapara School Committee, "and I rather agree with hiih. Tbe re are no other means, of -overcoming the present troubles tnat we have aB ct-mmitfees. ' Tlie . capitation that tlfe Board receives is 14s per liead (l&s per head, Is 6d on scholarships, and 6d on relieving teachers). The, average pay-*, ment- by tlie Board to committees is'l-ps Bd,' so where does the balance of the money go? Is it m the upkeep of the Education Boa^rd and its ofliee^s?." Mr Pasley iaid he eertyiwy. . thought ttyat soine better, sclierne'' should b<i Gvplved.' Thei'e Yvas oxeesls of authority, -someSvherc. Either the committees should be abolished and \\)e Boar^, deal- directly with th. schools, o'r.the'b'o^rd, should be abolished.' 'Ho favored the, idea -at fH'c Department dealing directly with the school committees, as this would be more m the interests of the schools '■■ thejnselves,; "and," he added, "you .would have 110 diflioijltx m getting tlip; 1 right kind of rdsiaents to come forward as committeemen. It-.* is the people . who have an. interest m their own school who Stand for committee**-." He said they could not find- a moi'c loyal, aiid hardworking committee than theirs as regards school matters.' They formed working bees, and went m for improving the gr.ojin.ds, whereas pthcjr committees had to pay 'for. the work. But they had no powers at all, a_nd were si mp ly ■ 'glorified "care'i-_ker.s,"-'' as I Jr. Porter said. Tbero was certainly this, that the coniniittee. assisted, the, staff- of the w school, arid was a kind' of intermediary between the authorities aiid the teacher's. Mr Tasley said trouble, was that tho local School "Committer* Association, instead of being, as was intended, .a* live, body, was practically dead. There should be ' regular meetings, when matters affecting the' committees cojild. be- - diseased, If a^ good" copld' be got N out'"of it, he. was" 16 it meeting of tlie Association i-eihjg called to fuVther discuss the .matter,' and. 'lie suggested, that thfe Department, niight work u-itl), the A*^Q*.>-V tjioii, wili.ch \?as a' "representative bpd^r, land "would be* ? Working m tnja interests pf the whole district. " •"!'■"' .'■ . Mar' Jas. Hay, chairman of tile KiQti School Committee, said, he prefer/ed not tjo discuss "s6 matter m detail' until he had liad time to consider it, arid discuss ijt with other com'mitt'e6meri." He expressed himsplf as b^ing. favorable tyi the lfl^a pj^.ce_jjt l ra^sg v tip^ ) and said if. thejr.^, , wajs an^r overlapping,''' and there certainly appeared "to-' be somei which could" be done 1 away with and-thus save : expense, it would, be a good tiling^ The scljppl ; committees' pp weir'q wfiri*, certain.lv.- y.erj' .restricted at present,' arid, whilst lie Agreed with centralisation,"' lie pointed out that something m the way of. sub.-' conpjjiljtees- w.oujtd. be nepegsjiry to attend .to the mdi vidua! " schools m tyie v{\r ions' centres. As to the meeting of the Scliobl Committees' Association, Mr Hay said' if a m^ing.wap cant..dVbe. w ,QWJd be only too pjeased to attend and discuss tlie. subject,/: As. far.. a^ the pr^^§nt I^diic^ti'on Board^'is concerned, Mr Hay saicl his" corriiriittee 'had 7 hbtliin,or t6' cbriipjlain of- The Board has tveated them yeiry wej^. in* tjie r pajstj.. ■-, ■ '