SCHOOL COMMITTEES.

Taranaki Daily News, 11 July 1923, Page 7

SCHOOL COMMITTEES.

TARANAKI ASSOCIATION. A meeting of the executive of the Taranaki School Committees’ Association was held at Hawera on Saturday. Present: Mensre. A. L. Roberts (chairman), Avery, Stanley, Morris and W. Williams.

Rule 3, clause fl, was amended to read: “The annual conierence or a special conference shall have power to amend, waive, rescind or make rules, to elect officers or to remove any officer from office, to distribute for the benefit of school committees the funds of the association, to decide any appeals against the decisions of the executive and to inagurate any movement or decree any proceedings in the interest of the association. It shall govern the executive.” The secretary said he understood that a branch was to be formed at Opunake. He had received fees from all over Taranaki district, which showed that branches had not been established, and committees seemed to act more or less individually. The chairman moved that the whole of the affiliation fees be collected by the general secretary of the association. The motion was carried, with the addition of the words: “That the general secretary refund the branches their quota.” The chairman moved that executives act in the place of branches and be given the same powers—Carried. A circular lett?r was received from the ’'edefated School Committees urging the need for organisation, to which end it was proposed to raise £4OO from different associations, Taranaki's quota being £2l.

The chairman said the question was whether the expenditure was warranted. He regretted that Mr. S. G. Smith, M.P., who had attended the Dominion executive at which the scheme for organisation was adopted, was absent, as he would have been in a position to give them further information. They all favored organisation, and it seemed to him that they should help the Central Federation to the utmost, but it was a question whether their finances would stand £2l. It was decided to defer consideration till the next meeting so that an opportunity would be given for Interviewing Mr. Smith. A letter was received from the Education Board stating: That the request that inspectors' reports be read at meetings of householders had been referred to the Director of Education: that the association's request in respect to holidays would .be dealt with when the holidays for 1924 were being fixed; that the supervisor of manual instruction had been instructed to bring before the board at its next meeting a report on the possibility of re/arrangtng the attendance at manual classes. It was suggested by the secretary that remits for discussion at the conference should be sent in ample time for committees to be informed of then nature, so that delegates could be appointed and instructed how to \ote. >.o far they had had the personal oi delegates only at conference*. The chairman approved of tins and

said the matter could be brought up later. The present method did not permit of deliberation and was somewhat lax. It was necessary to have the viewpoint of committees. It was left in the hands of the secretary to frame a letter to be sent to committees appealing for their support.