80

E.—l

Statement of Assets and Liabilities, 31st December, 1880. Assets. £ s. d. Liabilities. £ s. d. Unpaid balance of grant for school- Overdraft, Bank of New Zealand ... 1,580 11 1 buildings ... ... ... 6,000 0 0 Due on school-buildings contracts ... 4,046 0 0 Due for scholarships ... ... ... 196 8 0 Balance ... ... ... ... 569 16 11 £6,196 B_o £6,196 8 0 P. G. Petde, Treasurer.

SOUTHLAND. Snt ; —. Invercargill, 4th March, 1881. In compliance with the requirements of " The Education Act, 1877," section 102, I have the honor, by direction of the Board, to lay before you a report of the proceedings of the Education Board for the District of Southland for the year ending 31st December, 18S0. The Boaed. —At the beginning of the year the Board consisted of Mr. Thomas M. Macdonald (Chairman), the Hon. Dr. Menzies, Messrs. Shanks, Lumsden, Denniston, Baldey, Sproull, Morison, and McArdell. The three retiring members, as ascertained by bailot at the usual meeting in December, were Messrs. Macdonald, Denniston, and Sproull, of whom the two former were re-elected, and in place of the latter, who declined to be a candidate, Mr. Mackintosh was returned. Fifteen meetings of the Board have been held during the year, at which the average attendance was 62. One of the members had leave of absence to visit the Home country, and two others, being members of the General Assembly, were absent during a part of the Parliamentary session. The retiring members at 31st March are the Hon. Dr. Menzies, Mr. Baldey, and Mr. Shanks. School-Buildings.—At the close of the year there were in all 60 schools under the Board. This includes the District High School, which, now that the Invercargill Boys' and Girls' High Schools are in operation, will shortly be converted into a public school. Six new schools have been opened during the year, viz., Chatton, Pembroke, Heddon Bush, Pukerau, Otautau, and Waikaia. One school, Wild Bush, owing to its proximity to Gummies' Bush, and to the sparseness of the population, has been closed. At Heddon Bush and Otatara Bush the schools were held in temporary buildings not originally designed for schoolhouses, and altogether unsuitable for the purpose. Schoolhouses of a plain but commodious design are in course of erection in these localities, and also at Wrey's Bush, in the Oreti District. Besides these, the Board has sanctioned the erection of new schools at Otama and Waikaka. In several other districts boundaries have been defined and sites obtained ; but, notwithstanding the urgency of the claims, the Board, owing to the insufficiency of the funds placed at its disposal, has been unable to meet them. From the increase iv the number of pupils attending the South School, 339 at the beginning and 509 at the end of the year, it was found necessary to add another wing to the main building, to accommodate about 100 pupils. This addition will be completed before the termination of the annual holidays. In the report for last year it is stated that " some of the older schools of the district are rapidly falling into decay, and to execute extensive permanent repairs on them would be spending money to no good purpose. Next year it will, no doubt, be found necessary to replace the oldest and most dilapidated of them by new erections. The urgent and numerous demands made upon the Board have exhausted the means at its disposal, and many applications have been left to be dealt with during the next fiuaucial year." The next financial year however had more than enough to do with itself, as the income of the Board, much to its disappointment, was reduced from £7,500 in 1879 to £2,000 in 1880. In the face of such a sweeping reduction, the action of the Board in improving and erecting school-buildings was completely paralyzed. It is to be hoped that the Government will be in a position to grant for the ensuing year a sum more proportionate to the requirements of the district. Schools.—The following table shows the progress and classification of the schools in Southland for 1878, 1879, and 1880 :— 1878. 1879. 1880. Schools with 15 and under 20 pupils ... ... 1 5 3 20 „ 25 „ ... ... 5 4 6 25 „ 50 „ ... ... 27 24 33 50 „ 75 „ ... ... 5 10 6 75 „ 100 „ . ... ... 5 6 4 100 „ 150 „ ... ... ... 2 4 150 „ 300 „ ... ... 2 2 2 300 „ 500 „ ... ... 2 12 47 54 00 One of the greatest difficulties with which the Board has to contend is to be found in the large number of weak schools which are maintained at a considerable loss. To the teachers of schools at which the average attendance is under 25 the Board pays over the amount of capitation grant received from Government, on condition that the residents in the respective school districts subsidize the salary so as to raise it to £100. On referring to the Committees' accounts, it will be seen that they have raised during the year, by means of donations, the sum of £125 os. sd. for this purpose. Residences. —During the last year new residences have been erected at North Invercargill, Riverton, Limehills, and Otautau, and additions have been made to the residence at Arrowtown. The North School (Invercargill), Waikaia, Wyndham, Fairlight, Pukerau, Half-moon Bay, Heddon Bush, Wrey's Bush, and Waihopai (Gladstone), are still without residence.". The necessity existing for the erection of teachers' residences is very urgent, owing to the difficulty of procuring and retaining the services of competent teachers in those districts where no permanent residence is provided.