SCHOOL ALLOWANCES.

Waikato Times, Volume 102, Issue 17077, 14 April 1927, Page 11

SCHOOL ALLOWANCES.

TOTALLY INADEQUATE. PROTEST FROM WHITIORA. In his report to the Whitiora School Committee last night, Mr C. W. Wycherley stated:— "The committee would draw special attention to the allowance for incidental expenses, which is based on average, attendan.ee, and is the only money received from the board. It received £l9O a year to clean and maintain a school divided into three buildings, containing 12 classrooms, nearly 500 feet of 10ft corridors, teachers' rooms, lavatorjes, and latrines, provide sundry stationery requirements, firing for four months of the year (a very considerable item), water and electricity, as well as sundry repairs. The committee is expected to do all this out of this meagre allowance. Can anyone imagine any other Government Department expecting such work for such money? The amount received would only pay caretaker's wages, and in contrast, we would point out the different treatment in this matter received by our secondary schools. Were the primary schools to receive the same allowance as secondary schools, a school such as Whitiora would receive £ISOO a year. "To our knowledge," Mr Wycherley continued, "various committees and associations of committees have waited on successive Ministers, and advocated that an increased allowance be made to primary schools committees, but so far no relief has been given. A 50 per cent, increase in the present scale would be barely sufficient to enable schools such as Whitiora to have funds to meet their proper requirements."