SCHOOL COMMITTEES

Southland Times, Issue 21072, 2 May 1930, Page 4

SCHOOL COMMITTEES

MONTHLY MEETING OF ASSOCIATION

The monthly meeting of the Southland School Committees’ Association was held last evening, the chairman, Mr A. W. Anderson, presiding over a fair attendance of members.

Mr C. Hansen, secretary of the Lower Shotover School Committee, wrote stating that the Southland Education Board had endeavoured to consolidate the Lower Shotover School with Queenstown and had instituted a bus service which conveyed seven pupils to Queenstown. This was in face of opposition from the committee. The pupils referred to were not an unreasonable distance from the school. The letter asked if it would be possible to arrange a meeting of the association to coincide with the meeting of the Education Board so that the facts could be placed before the board. The chairman said that they fully realized that the country children had to be looked after as well as the town children and they were fully prepared to do this.

Mr A. W. Jones said that the Education Board had always tried to be equitable in its dealings. The position was that last October he had been in Queenstown on education business and had come into contact with the whole business. On the Sunday evening he had requested a meeting of those interested for the Monday night and there had been a large attendance. A number of the children attending the Lower Shotover School had to walk five or six miles and some had to be rowed over the Kawarau river by their mothers. He then thought that this would be an excellent chance for consolidation. He read a petition from 23 residents of Shotover asking for consolidation with Queenstown.

The chairman said that it was a pity that Mr Bagrie, the chairman of the school committee, was not present. Mr Bagrie had expressed a desire to come before the association and he had failed to take the opportunity. Notice had been sent for him to attend the meeting.

It was decided to hold the matter over in the meantime.

The matter of the grading of teachers was discussed, and Mr Jones stated that he was not in favour of the present system. He considered that more elasticity should be allowed to education boards in the matter of appointing teachers. At present they frequently had to appoint a teacher whom they did not know over a local teacher, whose capabilities they were aware of. It was impossible for inspectors in different districts to grade 7000 teachers on top of one another within one mark. Mr Walker said that the matter had been discussed at the recent conference of the Federation of Sotuh Island School Committes’ Associations at Timaru when various opinions were expressed.