THORNDON SCHOOL RESERVES.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 5653, 13 May 1879, Page 3

THORNDON SCHOOL RESERVES.

TO THE EDITOR OP THE NEW : ZEALAND TIMES. Sir, —I beg to enclose my name and address, which was inadvertently omitted, and ask to be allowed to add a few words relative to a very important public matter. It would be great folly of the Education Board to run the risk of the city losing two valuable educational reserves by failing to promptly utilise them for the purpose they were granted for, namely, the erection of commodious public schools, especially as the accommodation is so urgently wanted for the district, and it savors of reckless extravagance to, propose spending over £2OOO in purchasing a school site, when the Board has already one ia every way superior, as any one can see by comparison, and granted by the Government for nothing. An objection has been made that the Thorndon reserves are not central enough ; well, either of them are within three minutes walk of the centre of Thorndon Flat, and their proximity to the railway is a great advantage if we properly study the country districts—such as Kaiwarra', Ngahauranga, Petoue, Belmont, &o.—from whence many children, come by means of season tickets.- Possibly the Government would not object to exchange the reserve on Waterloo-quay .for , the one at the foot of Sydney-street, if proper representations were made. At any rate, I trust that in all educational grants of land the Government will make it strictly binding that they shall be used only for the purpose granted, and no other ; that all power of selling shall be withheld, and that where leasing is eligible it shall be done as with municipal reserves, only by public Competition in open market. To put it as gently as possible—Education and other Boards are liable to errors of judgment in those matters.—l am, &c., . Parent.