THE NEWTOWN SCHOOL

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 251, 17 July 1919, Page 6

THE NEWTOWN SCHOOL

$ • QUESTION OF SITE. A letter from the Newtown School Committee objecting to the removal of tho school from the present site was before the Wellington Education Board yesterday. A suggestion has been made that the school might be removed from the Riddiford Street site to a position where more space would be available. A site on Ihe Town Belt has been mentioned.

The chairman of the board (Mv, 'J'. Forsyth) said there was no doubt that tho present playground was too small. The school had" lo provide for a very large number of children and (he silo was not large enough. The suggestion had been made that Ihe noise of passing trams interfered with the work of the school. The board had considered tho purchase of land, for (he enlargement of the playground, but Ihe price asked for an area of about half an acre, now occupied by buildings, was .£12,00(1. The board cnuld not pay so large a price. Jlr. T. Moss said he had heard indirectly Hint some peonlo were trying lo nifllio a profit on,t of the board. He bad iieen informed that a v syndicate had hecn formed, or was being formed, lo purchase the land in question, in order to control the price at which it might be obtained by Ihe board.

Mr. It, A. Wright, M.R., said that he did not approve of any school being creeled on Ihe Town Hell. Tt was true Hint a large, site could be chosen there if the necessary permission were secured. But an important aspocl of the multer had been generally overlooked. Tho Town Belt had been given to the people of Wellington in the early days of the province as a. recreation reserve, and he did not think ii right that any part of the reserve should be used lo relieve the Government of its duty of providing schools and playground;. Education was it national task. If a Government Department secured possession of a rart of Ihe Belt, tho citizens of Wellington would not recover the ground.

Tho board received tho letter and took no further action.