EDUCATION BOARD

Southland Times, Issue 18859, 26 June 1920, Page 3

EDUCATION BOARD

MONTHLY MEETING. The monthly meeting of the Education Board was held yesterday, there being present: Messrs .1. C. Thomson, J. D. Trotter, J. McGibbon, A. J. Nichol, P. de la Perrelle, and G. P, Johnston Apologies were received from Messrs F. W. Gresham and G. Gilchrist. A letter from the Education Department conveying the Prince of Wales’ appreciation of the displays by children and the care taken of the little ones during the recent Royal visit was received. A deputation consisting of Messrs Taylor and Stevens, from the West Plains Committee, was heard in committee. APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS. The following appointments were confirmed: —James Soar, head teacher, Bluff; Henry Hamilton, head teacher, Dipton; John Cushcn, head teacher, Woodlands; Matilda Macdonald, solo teacher, Te Tua; James Payne, temporary sole teacher, Caroline; Nicoll Macdonald, temporary sole teacher, Waikawa \ alley; Bcresford Ritchie, relieving teacher, Springbank; Florence Young, temporary assistant, Athol; Jessie Falconer, seventh assistant, Invercargill Middle; C. Helen Mackay, head teacher, Menzies Ferry; Victoria Thwaites, temporary sole teacher, Haldane; Agnes Golden, head teacher, Myross Bush ; Christina Keach, temporary- assistant, Mossburn; Christina Vorkc, temporary sole teacher, Ferndale; L. R. Lewis, first assistant, Waikiwi; Mary I. Linn, head teacher, Seaward Downs; Elizabeth Smith, temporary assistant, Waimurat! Resignations were accepted from the following;—M. D. Steel, sole teacher, Otcramika Gorge; M. J. McLeod, temporary sole teacher, Glenorchy; M. M. Huffadine, ninth assistant, Invercargill Middle; W. R. Lenihan, temporary assistant, Seaward Downs; James Soar, head teacher, Makurewa; M. J. Linn ,hcad teacher , Wyndhain South; Catherine Macindoe, first assistant, Woodlands. It was decided to offer the Clifton Committee half cost of the erection of a memorial arch estimated to cost £250; to complete the work of filling in and levelling the Winton school grounds; to provide, by way of experiment, an 800 gallon concrete tank for the new school at Browns; to instruct the architect to prepare plans for a new school at Five Rivers Siding; to usk the Otahn committee to call a public meeting regarding the suitability of the site for the new school building; that, as recommended by the Invercargill Middle School Committee, the Department be recommended to raise the maximum house allowance to teachers to £7B per annum; and to attend to various other applications through the executive officers. REPORTS. The truant officer’s report stated that returns had been received from 160 schools, these containing the names of 255 defaulters. The following schools had omitted to send in statements; —Aparima, Bluff, Charlton, Caroline, East Gore, Ermedale, Fenidunlaw, Fairfax, Garston, Limestone Plains, Mataura Island, Morton Mains Siding, o:eramika, Riversdale, Riverside, Raymond s Gap, Seaward Downs, Scott’s Gap, Te luti and’West Plains. The ten schook with the highest percentage of attendance were; — Kapuka South ' 99.4; Holmesdale 99.2; Northopc 98.6; Cardruna 77.3; Waikaka Valley 95.6; Wendon Valley 95.5; Oreti 95.2;' Glencoe 95; Makarewa North 94.6; Maitland 94.5. Twenty-one schools rei turned a percentage below SO, and the avcraft? percentage for the ICO schools was 8.1,76. Nine informations had come before the court -Adopted. The report, of the architect and that of iltt* director of manual instruction v ere adopted. A MATAURA DEPUTATION. A deputation comprising representatives of the householders of the school committee of Mataura, consisting of Messrs J. l.owden (Mayor!, D. McDonald, G. Irwin, J, West and C. D. McConnell, waited on the Board. The chairman of the committee (Mr McConnell) was. the first speaker. He explained that, at a public meeting held recently at Mataura, it had been decided in object to the site proposed by the Board tor the new school. There had been 42 present at the meeting and 41 were uga;nst the Board’s proposal. The proposed site was under the brow of a hill, and it received no sunshine until about midi.ay-. Further, it would mean that the children would have to go about twelve or fourteen chains further, with the exception of two families that would ho benefited From the eastern side there was an attendance of 109 children at the school and 211 from the west side; The site proposed by the speaker on the west side- belonging to Mr Blake--was about half a mile more central tnnn the other and it would moan that, the Hoard's conveyance allowances would be cut down bv probably half. Mr Blakie s property was about forty acres and a block of this could 'oe obtained at about £JO or eHMJ per acre. The only objections that mi-dit be raised to this site were that it had been affected by the 1913 flood, but so bad all Mataura. Messrs l.owden. West, Irwin and McDonald also spoke, and some discussion -ook place as to which side of the river the east or the west—was the more siuitaV.le on which to build a school. It was r.-t’fy agreed that the greater amount of i .<iililiof late had been in the west, but Mr McGibbon said that the east -side would 1„. the favoured, residential locality. Mr VcGdbbon, in the course of asking questions of the speakers, had it made clear that the feeling of the meeting was strongly favourable to objection to the Board's proposal The meetinsr, it was said, was repre rentalive of both sides, and the meeting on the voices had been so definite that it was nos neeessarv to take a division. Before the'deputation withdrew the chairmen assured the members that the matter would have the careful attention of the Board The question was referred to the -x-cutivc and it was decided that the Board members ’ should visit Mataura to inspect