SCHOOL COMMITTEE MATTERS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 390, 17 March 1908, Page 2

SCHOOL COMMITTEE MATTERS.

The School Committee, during , the past year, has had anything but a calm passage. Our readers are acquainted with the causes which led up -to the various disagreements. Last night another trouble was tabled, which ended by the Chairman tendering his resignation as a member of the committee. It appears that Mr Baker was elected, much against his will, as Secretary, owing to the resignation of Mr Fraukland, Hardlyjhad he assumed office, when Mr L. W. Wilson resigned from the chairmanship. Mr Baker was then elected Chairman, and he championed the cause of investigation on behalf of parents whose children had been disrated by the headmaster. This strenuous work left little time to attend to the' secretarial duties, and in order to relieve him, Mr Rae-Howard was appointed Secretary to the Committee till the end of the term, at a certain remuneration. When Mr Baker handed over the minute book to the newly - elected Secretary, he had hot entered the minutes of one meeting which preceded the inquiry held by Mr Braik. Prior to the last ordinary meeting ot the committee being held, the Chairman looked over the minutes of the Inquiry meeting, and complained to the Secretary that the minutes did not set out certain of the complaints made against the headmaster as fully as others minuted, and he desired certain alterations, and contended further that as the minutes of a prior meeting had not been entered, the minutes of the inquiry meeting should be allowed to stand over. When the meeting was held the Chairman stated that the minutes of the inquiry meeting were not ready, and the minutes of that meetiug as entered by the Secretary were not read. After the meeting, however, the Secretary disclosed the fact to committeemen that the minutes of the inquiry meeting were entered up, but that the Chairman desired alterations to be made before reading and confirming them. The Chairman’s action roused the indignation of Mr Coley, who called together the other members of committee, and it was decided to ask the Chairman to make an explanation. This he did last night, and regretted that his action had been misconstrued; and invited the committee to record a vote of censure and he would resign. Mr Coley got Up and pointedly moved a motion to tb€| effect that in view of what Chairman had done he was, in the opinion of the committee, not a fit and proper person to act as Chairman. Members required a motion of a milder nature before they would consent to second it. In the meantime Mr Baker wrote out his resignation, which was read and received by the committee. Mr Baker then left the room. Mr Hennessy said there was now a deadlock, and in order to proceed, proposed that Mr Hornblow, who was present in his official capacity as a 'press representative, be elected a member and chairman of the committee. This was unanimously agreed to. Mr Horn blow, while accepting the position in order to assist the committee at the present juncture, did not thank them for their action. Such is a precise of last night’s proceedings without touching upon unnecessary details. We regret that Mr Baker’s services are lost to the committee, because he is a man who has the cause of education at heart.. His action re the minutes was certainly indiscreet. The proper course for him to have pursued was to have ordered the minutes as they appeared, to be read, criticised, altered, if incorrect, but certainly not to have suppressed them. The fact of the minutes of a previous meeting not having been entered up had nothing whatever to do with the situation. However, we hope that alter so many adverse winds the committee, which has much important work ahead, will now enter on a calm and useful passage.