CAPITATION GRANT

Taranaki Daily News, 18 April 1935, Page 11

CAPITATION GRANT

NOT THOUGHT ADEQUATE SCHOOL COMMITTEES’ DIFFICULTY. DISCUSSION AT WESTOWN. The impossibility of school committees carrying out even the essential services in connection with the schools on the capitation now provided was alleged during considerable discussion at the annual meeting of householders of the Westown school district on Tuesday. It was unanimously decided to bring the matter before the North Taranaki School Committees’ Association with a view to steps being taken to secure some relief. The fact that there was no election of committee this year detracted from the, attendance, there being only about 20 present, including a few women. Mr. B. J. Deare presided. The chairman of the school committee, Mr. L. T. Aylward, in presenting a brief report to keep the householders in touch with the work of the school, pointed out that the election of the committee took place now only every two years, but the committee had called the meeting in order to sustain interest in the school. The year had been one of useful improvements in many ways, but the most serious concern was the down-grading enforced by the decreased average attendance, the effect of which would be forcibly shown in the treasurer’s statement The grounds were still being improved under the supervision of Mr. V. C. Davies and the ground in front of the school had been tar-sealed, an appreciated improvement The Borough Council had installed a water meter and the experiment of payment by that method would be watched with interest Scout and cub troops had been well maintained and the leaders were to be commended for their sustained interest The school staff under Mr. Wagstaff had shown excellent results in all depart- . ments of the school’s activities and it was felt that such uniformly high successes could only be secured by good system and sound work. END OF YEAR CEREMONY. The breaking-up ceremony and entertainment in December was well attended and had been carried through in a manner creditable to ■ all who had planned it A number of gatherings had been held to assist the funds, 'and the committee thanked all who had organised and controlled those meetings. S.uch practical help was evidence of the wide interest in the school.During the year the school commitees association of North Taranaki was reorganised and would, it was felt, do useful work for the district Mr. J. Garcia, a member of the Westown committee, had been appointed chairman of the asso that the. school had' a close personal interest in it Householders were thanked for past support but it was pointed out that it would be necessary until good times and larger attendances ramA again to maintain an increased practical interest if they were to continue an ever widening programme of school maintenance and. improvement Looking through the minutes of the past year it was noticeable that the school had received very considerable help from so many householders, in so many ways, both great and small that he had refrained from mentioning any particular person. Everyone, he thought was very proud of the school and the fact that the year’s work had gone on smoothly without any jar. The excellent results achieved in all departments of the school, clearly indicated that the work started by the late headmaster Mr. W. A. Brown,- had been ably carried on by the present headmaster, Mr. Wagstaff, and his staff, as there had been no falling back on either the educational or the sporting side. POSITION OF FINANCES. The honorary secretary, Mr. J. W. Darby, submitted a balance-sheet showing that the receipts in the general account had been: Capitation £ll6 5s and supplementary grant for readers £1 Os sd. Expenditure had totalled £lOB 8s 6d, the principal items being cleaning and sanitary services £7l 5s 7d, fuel and lighting £l4 4s, repairs and improve- . ments £l5 12s 2d, At the beginning of the year there had been a debit of £2O 11s lOd, so that with a transfer of £ll 14s lid from the special fund the general account was just square. ' The special account showed that receipts had totalled £3 Ils Id, and payments had been £23 9s sd, transfer to general account £ll- 14s lid, telephone rental and installation £7 19s 6d and milk ration £3 15s. The special account showed a debit of £4 17s lOd, as against £l5 Os 6d at the beginning of the year. There was, however, a sum of £3 15s due to the committee so that its accounts Were practically square. The secretary remarked that the capi-

tation from the board was insufficient to meet even the essential services of the school. No matter how economical the committee had been at the lowest estimate the essential services cost £99 15s per annum and every year the school committee was about £l6 short That amount had been met by contributions from householders and also by assistance from the special fund, which, at the end of the tenth year, was exhausted. The school had recently dropped to grade C and as a result the capitation would be reduced from £ll6 to £BB, though the overhead expenses had not dropped in any way. The school committee would therefore find it impossible to carry on as the essential services, cleaning, fuel, lighting and school stationery alone cost £9O 9s. In addition there were repairs and renewals, water rate, telephone and other expenses amounting to at least £25 to be met The committee would be forced to find at least £2O to carry on the essential services, without taking into consideration any equipment for the class-rooms, contributions to the sports funds, a picnic, dental clinic fees, milk ration, etc. Members of the committee, if it exceeded the amount allowed by the department, were personally liable for any expenditure. Something drastic would have to be done and he suggested that the School Committees’ Association should take the matter of capitation up with the board and the department, tl--ugh he recognised that the board was sympathetic in the matter. With the ■fall in grade, however, tjie burden on the householders to provide for even the essential services would be greater than ever. COMMITTEE APPRECIATIVE. The headmaster, Mr. Wagstaff, thanked the chairman for his appreciative remarks. The committee had always been appreciative and had never made any carping criticism. Besides viewing matters from a business viewpoint, the committee appreciated the educational side. At the end of the term he had proposed holding a school concert to assist the school funds, but that would have to be postponed until next term. He considered that putting on school concerts to raise funds was more uneducative than educative, while the practising for such concerts interfered with school time, which would have to be made up later on. All that, he said, was necessitated by the cheese-paring attitude of the department in regard to funds. In addition he had to do without'many things in the way of classroom equipment that

was required. The tar-sealing of a portion of the grounds had been carried out, possibly at the expense of replacing school equipment, not that, he was finding fault with the school committee in looking after the grounds so ably. Regarding the movements of school teachers, the school had been fortunate so far in that it had only lost supernumaries. Next term, however, they were going to meet with a serious loss in the transfer of Miss T. Simpson, the oldest teacher on "the staff, whose work was of a very high order. In conclusion he paid a tribute to the valuable assistance given by the parents of the school, who never made any complaints unless there was justification. « Reference was made by the chairman to the presence of Mr. W. A. Brown, a former headmaster of the school, who was shortly leaving for Dunedin. Mr. Brown said splendid work was being carried out by the Westown committee. It was, however, a thousand pities that the school should be starved as it was. It was a fact that the schools were “slipping” badly internally and he instanced the need for keeping school libraries up-to-date. If efficient work were to be done in English subjects the children must have redding material but through the parsimonious action of the Government in stopping subsidies, etc. there was no opportunity of the children securing suitable reading , from school libraries. As a result they lost the taste for reading. Certainly they had the school journal, but most of them read it the day it was received. School maps, too, were generally out-of-date. It was a matter that parents should take up with the Government, as the rising generation were not getting a fair chance. Mr. Brown said he had spent some of the happiest years, of his life as headmaster of the Westown school. The chairman said the capitation was totally inadequate. Running a school was a business'and the committee should be provided with sufficient funds, without the necessity of using funds raised for special purposes. He expressed appreciation that Sister Corkill had returned

to New Plymouth. The school was very fortunate in having such men as Messrs. Aylward and Darby as' chairman and secretary. He congratulated the- committee on the . appearance of its- grounds and the native tree department, in which the school was fortunate in having an enthusiast like Mr. Davies. : On the motion of the chairman and Mr. Darby it was decided that it be a recommendation to the committee to take up the question, of increased capitation with the department. A vote of ' thanks was accorded the chairman. HOME AND SCHOOL ASSOCIATION. SPLENDID WORK DONE. A meeting of the Westown Home and School Association was held on Tuesday night, Mr. J. Garcia presiding. A report, of the activities of the asso-ciation-which was formed late last year was read, showing that as the result of various gatherings the sum of £25 10s had been raised.

The chairman - said that the support accorded the association had been most gratifying. Help had been received on all sides, so . many having rendered assistance that it would be impossible to thank, them individually. The association was deeply indebted to them, and it was hoped that the same support would be accorded during the coming year. Mr. J. W. Darby suggested that the association should map out a definite programme for which it intended to raise funds as had been done at the outset in connection with the school ground improvements, when a most successful effort had been made.

Members generally agreed with the suggestion, it being pointed out that the provision of a gymnasium had been mentioned at the outset as one of the main objectives. Officers were elected as follow: Chairman, Mr. J. Garcia; vice-chairman, Mr.

L. T. Aylward; honorary secretary, Mr. J. W. Darby; committee, Mesdames W. F. Southam, J. Garcia, K. N. Andrews, J. M. Poynter, Messrs. F. W. Marsden, A. E V. Gilbert, W. L. Wagstaff, W. A. Brown, J. M. Poynter, K. N. Andrews, J. H. Foster, R. J. Deare, G. W. Turnbull, H. V. Leighton, and V. C. Davies, with power to add. A sub-committee consisting of Messrs. K. N. Andrews, F. W. Marsden, A. E. V. Gilbert, the chairman, vice-chairman and secretary was set up to frame a programme for the year and submit it to a general meeting of the association.