The Telephone. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. GISBORNE, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1884. EDUCATIONAL RESERVES.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 63, 11 February 1884, Page 2

The Telephone. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. GISBORNE, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1884. EDUCATIONAL RESERVES.

The necessity that existed, a short time since, for the Gisborne School Committee appealing to the public for sufficient funds—£loo—to effect the purchase of a piece of land for a playground, induces us to deal with the question of reserves, which is one of great importance to this district. Tn September, 1882, “The Education Reserves Act Amendment Act, 1882,” was passed, and by its provisions the lands described in the schedule attached to the Act are to be vested in School Commissioners, as endowments for primary and secondary education. As set forth in the said schedule, in the Patutahi and Turauganui districts there are no less than twenty-six reserves, varying from a little over 2 acres to 4G acres, and all those blocks of land are vested in the Auckland Education Board; but are to be under what are termed the control of School Commissioners, to be elected in March next. The Board of School Commissioners will he composed of three gentlemen, each appointed by the Governor, and two each by the Education Board, to retain office for three years, and have full control over the reserves set apart for educational purposes. We have, therefore, to consider what effect the vesting of the reserves set apart in this district for educational purposes will have in the transaction of scholastic business in Gisborne. The reserves being under the control of the Education Board in Auckland, the School Committee here has been entirely dependent on the public for any amount required in addition to the help received from the Hawkes’ Bay Board. Why the whole of the revenue from the valuable reserves in this district should have gone to the Auckland Board we are at a loss to discover, but trust that the Commissioners will do their utmost to have

the matter set right as speedily as possible after their election. They will be able to point to the fact that the Gisborne School Committee had to raise a sum of money towards purchasing a section of land for a play-ground, while 600 acres have been set apart in this district for educational purposes. It maybe presumed that the reserve rents from this district make a considerable addition to the funds at the command of the Auckland Board, and these amounts, instead of going to the Hawke’s Bay Board, are received by a body on which this place has no direct claim for assistance. At the same time, it is but right to state that this district has been liberally dealt with, in many respects, by the Hawkes’ Bay Board of Education; but, instead of being in a position to obtain a sutu of money for school purposes out of the moneys derivable from reserves, the residents of Gisborne have to put their hands into their pockets to purchase land for a play-ground. The money required for buying the section referred to was £5OO, out of which the Educational Board provided £400; so that there was no alternative but for the School Committee to appeal to the public of Gisborne to effect the purchase of the land required for a play-ground This state of affairs is far from satisfactory, and it is to be hoped that steps will be taken to effect a considerable change in the control of educational reserves in this district.