SCHOOL COMMITTEES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17181, 26 October 1923, Page 7

SCHOOL COMMITTEES.

CANTERBURY ASSOCIATION. The Canterbury School Committees' Association met last evening. .Mr J. J. Staples presiding. The town, clerk wrote, regarding the letter from the association suggesting that the new concert chamber be so constructed that films could be shown for the benefit of school children. It was stated that the matter had been referred to the Offices Accommodation Committee, which had charge of the building plans. The! Wellington Schools Committees’ Association wrote intimating that the association intended to entertain a party of school children from the Chatham Islands during the next Christmas holidays. The Wellington association asked the Canterbury association for the benefit of its experiences. It was reported that the Canterbury association had pledged itself to house the children during their short stay in Christchurch on the way to and from Wellington. It was decided to supply the required information. Some discussion took place on the subject of sick pay for school teachers, and the demand that they should be placed on the same basis as other Civil ( Servants where full pay was given for more than a month according to length Mr Peverill said that teachers worked only from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. They had twelve weeks’ holiday a year and Saturday and Sunday every week. The teachers were the best paid branch of the Civil Service in New Zealand today. Mr E. H. Andrews said the Education Department proposed to curtail Its grant and so the teachers would probably receive less benefits. The matter was dropped. Discussing the subject of incidental allowance Mr Peverill said the pinch was put on the school committees by the Department. Formerly the Education Board voted £9BO a year to the committees for incidentals, but the Department told them t«> stop It. and curtailed their income by £ISOO to make sure that they would do it. It was reported that the association had held a conference with the <’anterbury Head Masters’ Association and the Teachers’ Institute. One matter discussed was the grading of schools, and it was decided that roll numbers vrere the fairest basis regarding grading instead of average attendance. The purchase of stationery to retail to children bv committees through the teachers was considered by the conference to be scarcely worth while. The conference supported the stand of the Association regarding tho interference with school work by outside organisations. The conference had decided that a conference be held cf delegates from the Association. Education Board and teachers regarding uniformity of holidays. The report was adopted. Mr Hooper moved: 'That this association strongly protests against the proposal of the Government to reduce the capitation to the schools by -.0 per cent.'' Such a reduction, he said, would cut £6O or £7O off the revenue of the Svdenham school, and they could not stand it. Mr D. W. R. Blaze y: If they cut down Woolston we will not be able to ! Mr Dangerfleld said it was not of J much use discussing the a I | talking to a deputation.” he said, "and he does not know v. hat he is talking j about. I don’t think we should lake tho matter seriously.” Mr U. IT. Andrews said the association would be perfectly justified in getting in early with a protest. The Minister evidently thought that bike eping back twenty per oemt could* dole it out to those schools which were hard up. The credit balances of the schools that had credit balances did not equal the debits of w.,2 after their schools or spend anything on them, and so their credit balances i „ roTV j’ t(? was sorry to see Mr Parr ! coming back to th- proposal of halfi cost for sites. That, hr- had thought, had been killed dead. The Education Board had fought tha> principle for years, and Mr Parr had agreed that, it i wanot equitable. So many committees had been prepared to find some money towards more land that Mr Parr had seized upon it as a precedent. The motion was carried with the addition of a protest against the pronouncement that in future school committees should find half the cost of new