SCHOOL COMMITTEE ELECTIONS.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 1850, 27 January 1880, Page 4

SCHOOL COMMITTEE ELECTIONS.

WEST CHRISTCHURCH. The annual meeting of householders of the West Christchurch School district took place last night iu the schoolroom for tho election of a committee for tho eveningly ear. Tho chair was occupied by Mr Wm. K. Allison. T’io chairman of the school committee, Mr H. J. Taacred, read tho following report for th? past year : —• ')L j committee has the honor to report as follows, on the proceedings during tho period above mentioned. Vho matt rs requiring special attention are very few, and beyond the' details of tho ordinary work there is little to record. The committee is of opinion that the school is p mg oo satUfavtor ly. *o far as the actual tcaeVictr i° concerned, and as will be seen by the tab e hereto appended, a considerable increase bar- tak n pi ce ia tho numbers of children under instruction. This in-rease however, is not a eource of unmi x d satisfaction, because _tho inconvenience arising from the overcrowding of some of tho rcouij to which attention was drawn ia last year’s repelt, is thereby increased. It is hoped that ia a .short time tl is evil will be cured by fho establishment cf a side school to the south of Adduigloa. U will be iu tbe recollection of the householders that a site of about four acres in ox lent was acquired some time ago with that obje t It appears that it was the intention of the Beard to pro.ced with this work during the pasl yi-»r. a sum had, it is understood, been set aside for the purpose of erecting tbs necessary buildings, but the requirements of other districts having been considered more pressing, no funds coul i bo made available for the establishment of this school. Tha committee ha*, in compliance with tho directions contained iu the Education Act, made provision for the teae.hirg of elementary science. Under the sanction of the Beard a scientific apparatus has been ordered at a tost not to exeee ; .£2O . Some changes have been made during the year iu the toacaiug staff of the infant department. 'i he mistress having resigned her post, another mistress was appointed in her room. Tho committee desi es to express its regret that it b;,s been unable to offer any prizes this year, owing to the want of sufficient funds, alter providing for the incidental expenses which are absolutely unavoidable. The grounds b “longing to tbe school have been surveyed under authority from tbe Bo:.rd, and accordingly the boundaries of the site have been fixed exactly. Considerable inconvenience has been experienced particularly during the past wet season, from the state of the roads and side channels at the back of the school. A considerable amount of water lodge 1 iu the channels and threatened tho health both of the children and the neighbors '1 he committee has done its utmost to remedy this evil, but only with partial success. Some new desks have been procured to replace the old ones which had been in use in tbe old High School, and which were completely worn out. Au o ja’.t cabinet has been ordered. A c.mven.cnt cloak room has been formed at a small cost by tho closing iu o“ part of tbe verandah ou the boy.’ side the labor required having been re: formed by tho caretaker. The following is the working average of attendance during the several quarters of the past year: March —tOB bova, 359 girls—777. June-433 5 b >js, 357 6 girla-791.1 September—lK! 25 boys. 325 27 girls—736.s. December—463 4 boys, 387 girls—Bss.4. It will he fee a by the following comparison of the above results with the aveiages of last year, that the attendance is steadily on tbe incroa'e. WORKING TOTAL AVERAGE. Increase.

A statement of accounts for the above period is appended, audited as required. Henry John Tancbed, Chairman. January 26 h, 1630. On the motion of Mr Manley Smith, the report was adopted. The election of the committee for the ensuing year then took place, the same members, namely, Messrs H. J. Tancred, G. Broth, D Nairn, Bowie, Bell, Holly, and BickcrtOD, being re-elected.

EAST CHRISTCHURCH.

The annuel meeting of householders and election of committee for the above district took place at the Gloucester street school last evening. There were between forty ar d fifty householders present. The Hev. Mr Watson was elected to the chair.

The Chairman read the annual report as fellows:

The retiring committee have the honor to preterit their report for the year ending December ■jlst. 1679, to the householders of the East i' Lristchnrch educational district.

Improvements—Nearly the whole of the work sketched ortby the committee on taking office has been accc-mpl'shed. Quite £OOO have been expended by the Board in improving the school bu 1 iin?a : nd the property generally, and it.mny be confident y said that the schools, so far as appliances for education are concerned, are in an efficient rendition. Att ndanco—The attendance of the children at the school for the past year has been satisfactory. The average attendance for the year is upwards of 100 greater than that of the previous year, that for 1873 being 1137, that for the closi g year BMC. Insp-ction—As the inspector’s report is not yet before the committee, wo cannot say whether the resnlts are entirely satisfactory. Bat this much is ki own, that the inspector is better satisfied wi h this year’s results than he was with those of last year. Teaching—Sev r il changes have been made in the teaching et ft, and the new teachers are giving satisfaction to both the committee and the inspector Having resptet to the increasing population of Biagslaud, and the difficnlty of exercising over it a sufficient sneervision, the committee Lave recommended the Board to constitute it a separate tchool district. Nothing can be done however, in this direction until the clo-o of this year. Meanwhile, it might be desirabla for the householders to elect some geuMemm from that locality to look specially after the interests of the Binjfslar.il school. The eomn.i:tco l ave applh d to the Board to set apart a ■•ura of money to build a house foe the head mas-ir. It is hoped that the money may be obtained and expended for this purpose during she preset t year. A balance sheet duly audited will he laid before the meeting. The balance sheet showed the revenue to be £3678 13 < Id, of which £C4 7s Id was a balance running from the previous year. The expenditure was —Incidental expenses, £537 7s 103 ; salaries, £3IOO 13 1 Id ; building sites’ account, &r. £42 Os 6d ; balance at the Bank, £O2 9s Od ; total, £3743 Os 2d. The Chairman, in sporting to the report, referred to the ftelh g of the committee ns to tho relation between them and the Board, which they thought should be re-adjusted. It wes frit that the committee had too little power, and he print, d out that a failing of this kind had induced a former committee to resign, and ons of the best members of tbo late committee had refused to sit upon the Beard on that account. If, therefore an amend . ent of tho Act was brought about lie considered it. desirable that the committ e should have more power. Another part ho touched uponwas tbo working of tho Act es to elections, pointing cut that it did not provide for a true expronsien of opinion on the part of tho householders, ns no provision was made for adjourning tho elrction, and tho commit!• c had t be elected by those in tho room, however few in number. Thus the principal of cumulative voting under such circumstances might operate in a mischievous manuer, (ho balance of power being placed in tho bands of a fnvv p; is ;ns. Mr Waller moved tbo adoption of tbo report and balarce sheet, which was seconded by Mr Ness and carried. A vote of thanks was passed to tho retiring committee.

Cll-.e meeting then proceeded to the election of the commit I eo for the ensuing year. The names of ten householders were proposed and a ball it was taken, resulting in the election of the following gentlemen : Rev. IT. C. Watson, Messrs J. S, Williams, A. Candy, Mathew Henderson, K. Watts, S. C. Farr, and J. White. ST. ALBANS. The annual meeting of householders in this district took place in the main schoolroom last l ight. There was a thin attendance. Tho Rev. T. FF-veil being moved to the chair, read the following report : The committee l eg to report that school matters have inane satisfactory progress during the year. The withdrawal of Mr Smith at th“ btfdnninp of thn year seemed an irrepairahle loss, but the head teacher, with the assistance of the senior pupil teacher, has kept _tho upper division of the school in a very efficient condition Every department of the school has been well managed, and has. we believe, given general satisfaction. From the Inspector's report we make the following extracts : “ The proficiency is creditable to the ago an* -attendance of the scholars, and it is generally aatisfaeto-y, nearly all the _ scholars passing creditably in the standards in which they arc

jireaented. In tlio senior class, the questions are well and fully answered. . . . • "I® discipline, tone and order are good. The efficient training and effective work of the pupil teacher staff throughout the school deserves special commendation.” The committee add with pleasure that nil the pupil teachers have passed their examination with credit Of the side school the Inspector says : A great improvement has taken place since my last visit in the conduct of the school. The attendance has increased with the increasing efficiency. . . . Generally great pains have been taken to effect improvement, and they have so far resulted in well merited success.” Owing to the increasing attendance at this school the committee have been compelled to ask for the appointment of another pupil teacher, and one has lately been appointed. The buildings of both schools are in good condition, and supplied with every requisite for teaching purposes. Only by the strictest economy have the committee been able to make the incidental grant meet and cover the necessary liabilities. By order of the Committee, Thomas Flavell, Chairman. The balance-sheet showed that during the past year the expenditure had been Salaries, £7-1-1 3s ; incidental, £l5O 4j 7d ; buildings, apparatus, &2., £45 4», leaving a balance Or. to the committee of £l3 4s 7d. The Chairman addressed the meeting briefly, and, in answer to a question, said that pupil teacher Miss Morton, came to them properly certified and highly recommended. The following gentlemen were then elected as committee for the present year:—Rev. T. Fiivell (Chairman), Messrs Gordon, Saywell, Macintosh, Dixey, Dickenson, and Bowbyes.

A vote of thanks to the outgoing committee for their services daring the past year terminated the proceedings.

SYDENHAM DISTRICT SCHOOL

The annual meeting of householders was held in the schoolroom, Colombo road, last evening, and Mr W’hitelaw was voted to the chair. On tho motion of Mr Hall tho business of tho meeting was delayed for fifteen minutes. On resuming, the Chairman called upon Mr Joyce to read tho committee's report, which he did. [The report is unavoidably hold over.] The statement of receipts and expenditure for 1879 was also read. Mr Samuels moved tho adoption of tho report, which was seconded by Mr Comber and ultimately carried. It was proposed by Mr Hall, and seconded by Mr Allison—“ That the Board of Education be informed that this meeting thinks that in order to ensure committees getting their reports earlier and in proper time, tho inspector should report on one examination before he examines tbe next school.” Mr Denham moved an amendment —“ That tho Board of Education be requested to furnish the inspector’s report at least seven days before the annual election of school committee.”

Mr Joyce seconded tho amendment. On being put to the meeting 26 hands were held up for the amendment, and only five hands for the original motion. A hearty vote of thanks to the retiring committee was proposed by Mr Powell, seconded by Mr Birch, and carried unanimously. Tho election of school committee was then proceeded with. The following was the result:—Rev. H. B. Cocks, 44 j Jovco, 41;

Allison, 28 ; Andrew, 26 ; Hall, 26 ; Forrester, 25; Denham, 18; Pavitt, 16; Diltry. 13; Mortlock, 10; Lockwood, 9 ; Christian, 8. The first seven were declared duly elected. A vote of thanks to the chairman was carried unanimously. Mr Joyce was subsequently re elected chairman of committee, and the committee decided to nominate the Rev. H. B. Cocks as a member of the Board of Education.

1878. 1879. 1879. Marc’a ... 751.‘2 777 25 8 Jaue ... ... 701 1 791.1 90 September ... 691 2 73G 5 40 3 December ... 731.7 855.4 120.7