SCHOOL BOUNDARIES.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20539, 14 February 1935, Page 9

SCHOOL BOUNDARIES.

Discussion by Committees’ Association. A suggestion that school boundaries should be reviewed was contained in a letter considered at the meeting of the Canterbury School Committees’ Association last evening. The letter was from the Linwood School Committee, and embodied a resolution asking that the Act should be amended to. compel attendance, except in case of health reasons, at the school in the district in which a child lived. “ The board has not the power to exclude a child from a school unless the school is overcrowded,” said Mr C. S. Thompson. “ Boundaries are made first and foremost for the election of school committees. I do not think they were intended to restrict the attendance at the schools.” Mr T. Nuttall, delegate from the Linwood Avenue School, said that complications had arisen in relation to neighbouring schools. So long as the standard of the schools varied, the parents would send their children to the best school. His school had complied with an unwritten law, giving preference to children of its own district. After those children came special cases from outside the district. “ The question of boundaries will never be settled satisfactorily until you have schools with elastic sides to cope with the floating population.” said Mr Nuttall. Mr S. R. Evison, delegate for the Leeston School, thought that criticism should be levelled at the present system. with the idea of raising all schools to the same level. The letter was received.