H.—2

50

Assets and Liabilities upon 3] st December, 1878.

Building Account.

WELLINGTON. Sib — Wellington, 27th March, 1879. As directed in clause 102 of " The Education Act, 1877," and in terms of circular letter No. 14, of the 31st October last, the Wellington Education Board present a report of their proceedings for the calendar year ended 31st December, 1878. During the year 1878 the Board met thirty-two times, inclusive of the regular meetings held on the third Wednesday of every month. For the first three months of the year the Wellington Education District included the whole of the late provincial district. On receiving instructions from the Education Department, this Board made the election required by the Education Act for both the present Wellington and Wanganui Districts ; and, from the lst April last, the Wellington District, as at present defined, has been administered by this Board. An agreement has since been come to between the two Boards, whereby their separate liabilities at the time of severance were accepted by each. Public Schools, Teaching Staff, and Maintenance.—Attached to this report will be found a list of the schools under this Board,-showing also the teaching staff of each school, their salaries, and the cost of maintenance of each and all of the schools for the year. A similar return of schools included in the Wanganui District, on and after the lst April last, is given for the quarter ended 31st March last. The schools returned in this list of the present "Wellington District for the year 1878 are all full-time schools, except two at Makara worked on the half-time system. Where the average attendance of schools falls below 25, it is intended, in future, to apply the plan of aided schools set forth in the rules and regulations. Attendance. —In the Appendix will be found a return showing the total number of pupils attending each school, the average attendance of each school, and the accommodation provided. At the end of the year 1878 there were 38 male and 67 female teachers in the service of this Board, as compared with 37 male and 54 female teachers for 1877. The number of children on the books at the end of 1878 consisted of 2,511 boys and 2,134 girls, making a total of 4,645, as compared with 1,660 boys and 1,167 girls, making a total of 2,827, for the previous year, within the same area. The average attendance for the last quarter of 1878 was 3,374, and for the last quarter of 1877 it was 2,365, showing an increase of 1,009 on the average attendance, within the present area of the district. At the beginning of the year large new schools were opened in the City of Wellington, and, owing to the great demand for school accommodation, caused by the immense increase in population, these schools rapidly filled. Other parts of the city are in urgent need of increased school accommodation. The Board are about to erect large new schools in the Thorndon and Te Aro districts, and in the populous suburb of Newtown, to meet pressing requirements. The following table will show how many children of school age there are within the district, and how many are actually attending Board schools :— All Children of On the Books School Age. of Board Schools. March, 1878. December, 1878. Wellington City ... ... ... ... 4,408 ... 2,555 Wellington country districts, including Hutt ... 1,841 ... 942 Wairarapa ... ... ... ... 2,042 ... 1,148 Total ... ... ... ... 8,291 ... 4,645 Improvements to ScnooL Properties.—Class-rooms, with convenient cap-rooms and lavatories, have been added to the Terrace, Mount Cook Girls', and Masterton Schools. A new school was opened during the year at Opaki, and teachers' residences havejjeen built at Tawa Flat, Clareville, and Waihenga. The Government have set apart two sections of the reclaimed land at Pipitea Point, and placed them at the service of the Board for school purposes. Additional sites much required have been purchased in Sydney Street, Wellington; at Tawa Flat, Carterton, Upper Hutt, and Waihenga. Income and Expenditure.—ln the Appendix will be found a statement of the Board's accounts for the year, showing an expenditure for maintenance of £16,966 14s. Bd., and for school buildings of £9,670 7s. Details of departmental expenditure accompany this return.

General Account (Maintenance.) £ s. d. 'o Bank overdraft ... ... ... 582 19 5 School Fund, due to Committees for quarter ending 31st December ... ... 197 17 1 By Balance £ s. d780 16 6 Balance ... ... ... £780 16 6 £780 16 6

'o Outstanding contracts, &c. Balance £ s. d. *- "• a- ... 4,396 12 6 By Amount of grant unexpended ... 365 17 0 Balance ... ... ... 4,030 15 6 £4,396 12~6 £4,396 12 6 ...£4,030 15 6 A. A. Beowne, Secretary. "W. H. Watt, Treasurer.