80-year-old classrooms to be replaced

Taupo Times, Volume 23, Issue 53, 4 July 1974, Page 1

80-year-old classrooms

to be replaced

* Two of the Taupo Primary School's classrooms, described as "small and sub-stan-dard," are expected to be replaced later this year. The executive officer in charge of buildings for. the South Auckland Education Board said .yesterday the contract for the replacement relocatable classrooms had been let. Mr A. W. Old said the double relocatables should be in place and occupied by the end of this year. The '■ rooms to be „ replaced are more than 80 years old and house two primer classes. According to the * chairman of the school committee, Mr Alan Johnson, conditions in the rooms are not condqcive to good teaching. It is reported that in winter, children havfe had to keep gloves and overcoats on most of the day because of the cold. One child complained to his teacher he was too cold to work. The school, in an attempt to make life as comfortable as possible . has since lit an open fire in one room and a stove in the other. But most of the heat generated is lost in the high-ceiling rooms. School committee member, Mr W. Keys, said the blame for such classrooms rested mainly with Government, rather than the education board. Mr Keys said the allocation of finance from the Government for replacement build- . ings and capital works ' was inadequate. "Because the Government is not providing .•? money, older schools such as Taupo Primary are having to put up with sub-standard classrooms." Mr Keys said his committee had been

agitating for replacement classrooms for about four years. But in the past plans "have never left the ground." The headmaster, Mr Keith Hextall, said teachers using the rooms had overcome difficulties very well.

perienced teachers to be working in an older and smaller classrooms, Mr Hextall said a first-year teacher usually has the srtialler class. "And these young teachers; have overcome problems associated with the rooms very well.

hopes to receive a freestanding library — similar to the one nearing completion at Hilltop Primary School. Taupo Primary is on the board's list to have a library this year. But, says Mr Hextall, this list was made up before an amount of money was set aside for the board from the Government. "My guess is we might have been deferred," he said.