TECHNICAL FUNDS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 12 June 1924, Page 2

TECHNICAL FUNDS.

METHOD OF DISTRIBUTION. A HAWERA COMPLAINT. The department wrote to the Education Board yesterday on the question of the distribution of surplus technical funds, which the Director stated had been the subject of correspondence between the Education Department and the managers of the Hawera, Technical School for some time. The Hawera managers had complained that it had not been considered fairly in the matter, but after due enquiry the department had replied that as exact accounts for each school were not kept, and proper provision was not made for the distribution of the overhead costs and other technical expenses between the different schools, it was very difficult to decide what would be an equitable distribution of the surplus funds. In any case the board’s technical fund was a fund for the whole district to be administered by the board for technical instruction purposes, consequently the department had no legal right to interfere, and the Hawera managers had been advised accordingly. The whole question was gone into by an officer of the department about two years ago, and the board was then recommended to pay from its technical fund all outstanding accounts and to distribute the surplus among the three schools in proportion to the credit balances, but he understood that since that advice had been given it had been found that in the past bookkeeping it was difficult to allocate the technical expenditure fairly, and the distribution of the cost among the schools was probably unreliable. He was therefore of the opinion that the board was in the best position to decide upon a fair distribution of the surplus.

Mr R. S. Sage, chairman of the Hawera Technical High School, wrote: “In reply to your favour of the 19th inst., my board was desirous of meeting your whole board in conference on the matter of technical accounts, simply because we are of the opinion that your board’s allocation is not a fair and reasonable one. Our contentions are : (1) That your committee did not grant this hoard a reasonable hearing on the question, and therefore we consider your whole board should have an opportunity of hearing this board in the matter. (2) Your committee was totally unable to give this board any adequate reason or .figures for your board’s arbitrary division of the amount shown by our accounts to be the earnings of Hawera Technical School. (3) This board offered a compromise to meet the only legitimate claim that your committee put forward, viz., on the score of salary not debited against Hawera, and conceded that this should be recognised in favour of New Plymouth. (4) This board contends that under no circumstances had Stratford a claim on these funds beyond that shown in .the accounts. (5) And therefore considers that either a further conference should be permitted between the full boards or that the matter should be referred to the arbitration of disinterested parties. My board desires that these points should be submitted to your board, and that if possible a conference may vet be arranged. My board is just ‘as anxious as the Education Board that this matter should be amicably, settled,. and has felt that so far'it was not justified in surrendering the sum of money to which it is at least morally entitled, whatever the legal position may be. It is to be hoped, therefore, that your board may yet see its way to consider the question jointly with my board.”

Mr Masters moved that the letter from the Hawera board of managers be received, and that the money be distributed between the New Plymouth, Stratford, _ and Hawera boards on the basis previously agreed upon when the matter was under consideration by the full board. Personally, he resented the statement of the chairman of the Hawera board that his board had not been given a fair deal and had not had an opportunity of discussing the matter fully. In the first instance the Education Board did what no other board in Nqw Zealand would do, and had allowed the board of managers for Hawera and its officers to come to the office at New Plymouth, where every record and book had been placed before them, and they had been allowed to find out as much as the Education Board members knew themselves. In addition a committee of the board had been set up, which had visited Hawera and had discussed every phase of the question fully for two or three hours, and had replied to every argument raised. They stated quite clearly that the Education Board was under no obligation to pay out to technical school boards one single penny, and could have retained the money as a provincial fund, but after mature consideration had decided that it should be allocated on the basis arrived at, which was thought to be fair and equitable. They had acted fairly, and he resented the tone of the chairman of the Hawera board of managers, who had an unfortunate way of expressing himself in all his correspondence, as the members of the Education Board all knew. Probably he did not mean all that he said. Speaking with regard to the allocation to Stratford, Mr Masters said that when the matter came originally under discussion a larger amount was allocated to Stratford than was now shown. He said then that he thought the amount in excess of what was due, and that a reduction should be made and the amount taken off given to New Plymouth. This suggestion had been adopted by the board, so that there had been no parochialism. The New Plymouth Board had borne an undue share of the overhead charges when the Hawera school was first established. When Mr Gray was appointed to Hawera he was principal at New Plymouth, and while he was building up the Hawera school he only received £2o in salary from that end, so that New Plymouth was paying him practically his full salary. AVhen allocating the technical fund the Education Board was in honour bound to treat New Plymouth more fairly than was suggested in the original report. The department admitted that he board was right in its judgment. They admitted that there were certain difficulties in the way of arriving at the balances, but fair consideration was given, and the conclusions arrived at were as honest and as just as possible. _ In view of that he moved a resolution in keeping with the second resolution passed by the board with regard to the allocation. Mr Smith seconded. Mr Sage’s statements in the first part of his letter that the Hawera managers had not been granted a fait hearing was quite contrary to fact. The members of the board who visited Hawera had to listen

to violent attacks on the administration of the Education Board. The committee appointed to deal, with Hawera had been quite frank and fair, and had stated the facts with regard to the system of bookkeeping. They did not shelter behind officials, and took full responsibility as board members. With regard tojraragraph 2, what MiMasters had said was a complete answer. The Hawera representatives were given the right- to come to the Education Board’s office and peruse any hook or document, and in the face of that they were told that the board had not acted in a fair and reasonable way. The committee had offered a- compromise, which was flatly refused. Hawera had acted foolishly. They had gone behind the backs and over the heads of the Education Board, and had used every means to upset the hoard’s decision, but all these means had failed, as the letter before the hoard showed. The fourth paragraph (expressed in such terms) could only have come from men with very limited knowledge of educational administration and narrow vision. The Education Board had been strictly within its rights, and could, if it pleased, have retained the whole of the balances. That was the legal position. Some of them knew of all the influence that had been brought to bear, and the unreasonable charges had been answered completely by the Department, which had been asked to interfere. In any case the board’s technical fund was f'-q- the whole district, to be administered as the board thought fit. The board may have made mistakes, but it had acted as justly as it could, and had allowed the Hawera district £7OO. Mr White said he felt in a somewhat difficult position, but he was as a board member, and he would ‘like to say that the board, as a whole, had always represented education in the whole of Taranaki district. They had done much work in successfully establishing secondary education in South Taranaki, and he regretted that Mr Sage should be so unfortunate in the manner of his expVession. He (Mr White) disassociated the chairman, or any other member of the board, from the references By the Hawera managers, as the members of the board had

done their, best for the whole of Taranaki without any parochial feeling whatever. Mr Dempsey said that when the allocation was made he had the same figures in his mind as Mr Masters without knowing Mr Masters’ conclusions. Mr Lees (chairman) said that the position which arose when they met the deputation in Hawera was unfortunate. The board was under no obligation to keep separate funds, and could administer the technical fund in any way it pleased. They did not wish to hold the money, and had decided to distribute it. There had been a division of opinion as to how the money should be allocated, some favouring other proportions than those finally agreed to. He thought there could be no harm in meeting the Hawera Board of Managers and hearing what they had to say, and he would move as an amendment that the board meet the managers at the next monthly meeting in July. This would enable them to finally close the matter. Mr Eaves seconded. M,- Deare thought this would be a waste of time. The board had thrashed the mater out fully, and had done what was right. Mr Matsers said he could not see what could he gained by a further meeting. A majority of the board members had arrived at a conclusion as to what should be done. They had had one meeting already at Hawera., and the matter had been gone' into as fully as possible. Any information that could not he given then could not be given now. The Hawera hoard was leaving no stone unturned, political and otherwise, to upset the decision of the Education Board. They could meet the Hawera people fifty times, and at the finish some of them would say that they had not been treated fairly. Why not close down the business? Mr Sage’s letter was not at all conciliatory, and every sentence with a little “pep” in it had been underlined. Mr Dempsey: If we change our opinion now it will be a confession that we were wrong at first. Mr Masters: But we were not wrong, and we won’t change our opinion.” The amendment was lost, only the mover and seconder voting for it, and the motion was carried.