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APPENDIX B. REPORTS (ABRIDGED) AND STATEMENTS OF ACCOUNTS OF EDUCATION BOARDS. 1. REPORTS. AUCKLAND. Sir,— , In accordance with the requirements of the Education Act, the Education Board of the District of Auckland has the honour to submit the following report for the year 1927 : — Board. —During the year no changes took place in the personnel of the Board, the members being : Auckland Urban Area—Mrs. N. E. Ferner, Mr. G. Brownlee, Mr. W. J. Campbell. Mr. H. S. W. King, Mr. J. P. McPhail, and Mr. T. ll.'Wells ; Hamilton Urban Area—Mr. S. B. Sims and Mr. F. A. Snell ; North Ward of the Rural Area—Mr. J. D. McKenzie and Mr. R. Hoc ; East Ward of the Rural AreaMr. K. C. Banks and Mr. A. Burns ; West Ward of the Rural Area —Mr. J. Boddie and Mr. J. Patterson. The Board met on the first and third Wednesdays in each month. Twenty-four meetings of the Board were held during the year, with an average attendance of twelve. Schools. —During the year the following schools were opened : Aomarama, Aongatete, Apata, Golden Cross, Huarau, Kohua Road, Moehau, Ngawaro, Pekapekarau, Piripiri, Rangitoto Island, Rotongaro, Taipuha Station, Te Huahua, Te Karaka, Trooper's Road, Waikato Hospital, Wapuna Valley, Wiltsdown. The following schools were closed : Glen Murray, Newton East, Okupata Road, Port Charles, Puketiti, Taikawhana, Te Matai, Te Werenga, Topuni Station, Waiorongomal, Waitekauri. Buildings. —During the year eleven new schools were built and twenty schools were enlarged. In order to meet the cases of emergency, two temporary buildings were also erected. Six schools were remodelled: five teachers' residences were provided during the year, and. one was enlarged. Accommodation.- The Board has again to acknowledge that the grants made by the Department during the year enabled a fairly vigorous policy with reference to the provision of school-accommodation in the Auckland Education District to be adopted. It has again to be urged, however, that the accommodation question in the Auckland Education District needs the very serious consideration of the Department. Finance. —The income for the year ending 31st December, 1927, totalled £815,722 13s. Bd., and the expenditure £818,771 17s. 3d. ' Maintenance Fund. —During the year the Board kept a close scrutiny on the Maintenance Fund, and so managed that no liabilities existed at the end of the year. The Board, however, considers that the fund should be strengthened if the whole of the necessary work in maintenance is to be carried out and the buildings kept in a proper state of repair. District High Schools. —The Board is glad to record that the improvement in the efficiency of tuition in secondary departments of district high schools still continues. At the close of the year seventy pupils of district high schools obtained full passes in the Matriculation Examination, 164 gained senior free places, nine obtained full passes for the whole of the Teachers' D Certificate Examination, and two passed the first section of the B.A. Degree Examination. The Board recognizes that these results were largely due to the keen interest displayed by the Senior Inspector and his colleagues in the work of district high schools, and their competent guidance, and to the earnest and capable work of the teachers. During the year the Board continued to urge the introduction of definite commercial subjects into the syllabus of instruction for district high schools, and is now pleased to note that, authority for such introduction has recently been received. Junior High Schools. —The junior high schools at Kowhai, Matamata, and Northcote are, according to the authorities who have visited them, doing good work. The Board desires that in connection with junior high schools in rural centres the representation of the main district should be fuller than it is at present, and to this end has advocated that the parents of the junior-high-school pupils should have three representatives upon the governing body. Consolidation of Schools. —The parents of children attending the Piopio Consolidated School are still highly appreciative of the general principle of consolidation. They are satisfied that the quality of the education given to their children is much better than that given in the small schools which were discontinued when consolidation took place, and that the corporate spirit engendered among the children will make for their benefit as citizens in the future. The Board is satisfied that the principle of consolidation has been established, and that its operation should be extended. Subsidies. —The Committees of the Auckland Education District continue to show keen interest in the schools under their authority. During the year they raised approximately £4,200 for the improvement of the school-grounds and surroundings, and for the establishment of libraries arid other school requirements. The contribution of so large a sum is an evidence that the parents in general are impressed with the importance of a suitable environment during the school-life of their children.