BUILDING SCHOOLS.

Taranaki Daily News, 31 January 1921, Page 5

BUILDING SCHOOLS.

CONTRACT SYSTEM FAILS. TARANAKI'S DAY LABOR EXAMPLE, Various phases affecting the erection of school buildings were discussed at a conference of representatives of the different Education Boards held in Wellington last week. A feature of the debate was as to whether contract or day labor (supervised by the boards) was the best method of carrying out building works. Besides the board <l-legates there were present officers of the Education Department, Mr. Campbell, Government architect, Mr. Troupe, in charge of building operations of the Railway Department, and Dr. Truby King. Speaking to a Daily News reporter, the chairman of the Taranaki Education Board (Mr P. J. White), stated that the outcome of the conference was that the Minister desired that all boards should make enquiries with a view to ascertaining what they can do in regard to erecting schools by day labor under the control of the respective architect!, and with the board’s own staff. This will not be a new departure as far as Taranaki is concerned, for the board have been erecting buildings by day labor for some years past, the idea haring been adopted in 1910, and the results speak for themselves. The co«census of opinion, especially among the department’s officers, is that such a system as adopted by the Taranaki and other districts is eminently satisfactory. During the conference facts placed before the meeting by various delegatee disclosed that building conditions, notably in regard to supply and price of materials, vary considerably throughout the Dominion. THE VARIOUS SYSTEMS. DIFFERENT BOARDS’ METHODS. (From Our Own Correspondent.) Wellington Jan. 27. The conference called by the Minister for. .Education to discuss school buildings was completed yesterday. The proceedings, after the opening speeches on Tuesday morning, were not open to the Press, the delegates considering that matters affecting costs and contracts ha 4 better be discussed in private. The conference considered the suggestions made by the Minister and his officers for improved methods of erecting school buildings, and indicated its general approval of the proposal that all the Education Boards should establish their own workshops, in order to carry out work of their own and check contractors’ prices. The delegates suggested that the Education Department should give some direct assistance in the establishment of workshops. The members of the conference will report now to the Education Boards they represented. Information that was placed before the conference showed a wide divergence of practice among the Education Boards in the erection of school buildings. The Education Department provides the money for the building of schools and the actual work is left in the hands of the Education Boards, of which New Zealand has nine. Four of the Boards, Taranaki, Wanganui, Canterbury and Southland, employ their own staffs and erect schools by day labor, an arrangement that in their opinion gives better results than the contract system. The Auckland, Wellington, Hawke’s Bay,.Nelson and Otago Boards prefer the tender system. The arguments advanced for and against day labor were summarised as follows in report placed before the conference: Taranaki: Direct labor gives better work. There is no motive for putting in inferior material, while closer touch with details of construction inspires imI provements to school equipment in general. The cost is less, the Board has the advantage of specialisation, actual wages only are charged, materials are bought in bulk with discounts and there are no contractors’ profits. Canterbury: A better class of work is turned out by workmen under control of the Board’s Tenderers have to allow such a big margin for unlocked for contingencies that their prices become too high. In fact it is very difficult to get tenders at all anef a good deal of , | preliminary work is thus wasted. ! Auckland < The contractor is responsible for the supply and careful handling of all materials and a definite price for the work is known, whereat, particularly at the present time, owing -to the uncertainty of obtaining supplies of materihls and to the difficulty of obtaining satisfactory casual labor. I do not consider any appreciable amount I is saved by day labor. Wellington: Where several labor works are carried on together, difficulty is experienced, especially in country districts, in securing satisfactory teams of men. The buildings undertaken hy day labor in the district have cost mor? than if erected by contract. The Minister and his officers urged tKat economies could he effected if all the Boards employed their own buildjpg staffs and bought their own materials. They considered that the eon tract system was unduly expensive and they quoted in support of their contention the fact that tenderers’ prices almost invariably exceeded largely the architect** estimates of the cost of new schools. The following figures showing ihe cost of buildings per square foot of claaaroom space, were placed before the conference: Auckland, wood 18r fid to 21*. concrete 36s to 4Os; Taranaki, 13s to 21s, 24s to 28s; Wanganui, Ufa Ud to 19s; Wellington, 23s to 26s 39s to 10s; Hawke’s Bay, 21s, 28s,t Nelson. 17s, 20s; Canterbury, 21s to 235-. Otago, 2ls, 245; Southland, 18s; The Taranaki Board explained tliat last year its concrete construction cost 21s per foot. The building operations of some of the Boards are on a very large scale. The Canterbury Board, for example, placed before the conference a return showing that it had in stock building materials to the value of about €9OOO. comprisiiV timber, hardware, bricks and paint. The Taranaki Board held materials to the value of £2900. and the Southland Board had stocks worth £4079.