E.—l

TABLE P. —Building Account.—Assets and Liabilities of Boards on 31st December, 1901.

School Buildings. For the last three years the ordinary votes for school buildings have been distributed not, as formerly, according to population, but on the basis of the average attendance in the several education districts, with adjustments according to the number of schools and to the increase of population in each district. Some of the items to which the grants are devoted are recurrent in nature, such as the maintenance and repairs of existing buildings and furniture, and the rebuilding of worn-out schools; other items —for instance, the building of new schools and of additions to existing schools —are of the kind that may fairly be regarded as a charge against capital. The recurrent items entail an expenditure that might be roughly estimated as a percentage of the original cost of the buildings; they fall under two heads, maintenance (including repainting, repairs, &c.) and rebuilding. To ascertain the amount that should be set aside to meet the cost of rebuilding it would be necessary to ascertain the average period for which a school building lasts, which may probably be taken as between thirty-three and forty years in the case of wooden buildings that are well constructed in the first instance and kept in good repair afterwards. For an average school, therefore, from 2J to 3 per cent, of its cost should be written off as a general rule each year, and an equal amount should theoretically be set aside to meet the prospective cost of rebuilding. But as it would be undesirable, if not impracticable, for Education Boards to form sinking funds for the purpose of rebuilding schools as they became too dilapidated for further occupation, the same end might be attained just as well, and far more conveniently, if onefortieth to one-thirty-third of the school buildings in a district were replaced each year. If, however, the average life of school buildings in any district is found to be greater or less than the estimate given above the proportion to be replaced must be altered accordingly. It ought to be possible to ascertain within fairly close limits the cost of carrying out ordinary repainting and repairs of buildings so nearly alike as are the school buildings in any given education district, and no one needs to be reminded that the neglect of ordinary maintenance considerably shortens the lifetime of any building. If less is spent on maintenance, more will have to be spent on rebuilding ; and it would seem, therefore, that a fair basis for the distribution of the portion of the building votes intended to meet the recurrent items named would be a fixed percentage on the original cost of the buildings erected. The special vote for schools in newly settled districts, &c, has been distributed this year in a similar mode to that followed in 1900. Instead of waiting for all the claims from the different districts to be sent in before making a distribution of the total amount available, claims have been dealt with on their merits as they have been received. Boards have been asked also to supply fuller

XIII

i Education Districts. , Caeh. Due from all Sources. Assets and Deficits. Deficits. Liabilities and Balances. Overdrafts. Li ffi ee . ' Balances. £ s. d. luckland 'aranaki .. .. 875 7 10 Vanganui .. .. 3,032 3 0 Wellington.. .. | lawke's Bay .. 892 19 0 larlborough Telson .. .. 823 2 4 £ a. d. £ s. d. , £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. 2,750 0 0 3,587 2 8 1,504 10 9 4,832 11 8 1,997 0 0 .. .. 79 14 7 2,792 13 3 2,075 0 0 .. .. 2,6G1 13 1 : 2,445 9 11 5,275 0 0 604 8 1 2,191 9 2 3,687 18 11 2,675 0 0 .. .. 981 10 0 2,630 9 i) 925 0 0 231 18 3 806 18 8: 350 0 0 2,000 0 0.. .. 810 16 0 2,012 6 4 387 10 0 ' 102 15 8 96 5 8 394 0 0 750 0 0 .. 11 11 6 55 14 f> 080 14 0 4,000 0 0 .. .. 1,797 10 7 2,662 2 6 2,133 0 0. .. .. 1,80113 11 1,670 7 4 6,125 16 i .. 2,442 13 9 2,191 18 0 1,491 4 7 3,455 3 0 .. .. 975 4 0 2,857 10 11 key .. .. I Vestland .. forth Canterbury .. 459 13 1 South Canterbury .. 1,339 1 3 )tago Southland .. .. 377 11 11 Totals .. 7,799 18 5 34,548 9 4 4,526 4 5 I 7,055 9 1 20,570 8 3 ' 19,248 17 10