Schools lack money for basics, says board

Press, 14 February 1986, Page 26

Schools lack money for basics, says board

PA Wellington Millions of dollars are being poured into new educational policies, while the money needed to maintain and Improve

schools is not even keeping pace with inflation, according to the Wellington Education Board. A board member, Prue Humphries, said she believed the Government had its priorities wrong. “It is spending money on new policies but cutting back on the money for basic essentials,” she said. “We should be looking at what we have already got before moving on to something new.” The general manager, Mr John Lelliott, said the board’s maintenance grant for this year had increased 10 per cent, the manual training grant 11.7 per cent, and the school committee and book grants 13 per cent. “In all these areas the very least boards need is to keep up with inflation with a grant increase of about 16 per cent,” he said. A board member, Mr Gerry Barnard, said he was tired of hearing school committees saying that they did not have enough money to do their duties.

“I even heard one person say that the school was not good enough for teachers to teach in,” he said. Resources had to be increase if schools were to offer teaching of an excellent standard, Mr Barnard said. The board’s chairman, Mr Clive Hesketh, said he believed it was more im-

portant that money be available to get all children to school than for computer educational projects. The board will write to other education boards, with a view to taking the matter up with the Minister of Education, Mr Marshall.