Basement Utilised As Classroom

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 297, 7 March 1928, Page 9

Basement Utilised As Classroom

OVERCROWDED SCHOOL DEPUTATION TO BOARD Protesting agai ist the use of a basement at Maungawhau School as a classroom, a deputation representing the School Committee waited on the Education Board this morning. ATR- W. G. LANGE, who acted as -*■ x chief spokesman, said that ’ rather a pathetic state of affairs’* existed at Maungawhau School, where children of Standard IV. were accommodated in the basement, to the danger of their health. Parents were greatly concerned with the seriousness of the position. Mr. Lange asked that no alteration be made in the school boundaries, so that children would not be withdrawn from the school. He suggested as a solution of the difficulty that a portable classroom be erected in the school grounds. “We all agree that the conditions obtaining at the school are not as they should be in this respect,” said the chairman, Mr. A. Burns. As the result of an interview w fh an angry parent, said Mr. Burns, he had sent the board's advisory inspector to investigate. INSPECTORS REPORT In his report the advisory inspector, Mr. D. Dunlop, said that attending Maungawhau from outside the school boundaries were at least 150 children. As a result overcrowding existed and a basement, quite unsuited for the purpose, has to be used as a classroom. In the district there are the Mount Eden School with spare accommodation for pupils up to Standard IV., and the new Normal School. At least 45 children could be transferred to the Mount Eden School, and all live outside the Maungawhau School area. About the same number could be sent to the Normal School. Transference of these pupils would reduce the Maungawhau School roll to about 730 and there should be no difficulty in organising so that it would not be necessary to use the basement as 3 classroom. The proposed erection of a new school on the Dominion Estate will further reduce the Maungawhau roll. The headmaster, Mr. C. Wilson, said that the school roll now contained 812 names —five more than when the school reopened in February. He suggested that to relieve congestion the Education Department might consider the provision of an open-air classroom as an experiment. “Maungawhau is an incorrectly balanced school,” declared Mr. Lange. “Well, we want to balance it for you by taking away 150 children,” was Mr. Burns’s reply. Mr. G. E. Spooner, who also spoke for the deputation, said that it would be a great hardship to some children to remove them holus bolus from a school to which they had become attached. “There is only one thing for it and that is to restrict the attendance as w r e had to do at Mount Eden School some years ago,” said the chairman. After the deputation had withdrawn the board gave the matter its consideration. It was decided to give effect to the inspector’s report and to re-adjust the school boundaries. ANOTHER PROPOSAL After the board’s decision had been made another' proposal was handed to the chairman after a conference of the deputation. The proposal stated that the School Committee was prepared to erect a temporary building to alleviate the present situation rather than have the school disorganised as they felt sure that matters would right themselves in a year or two. The board decided to adhere to its decision.