SCHOOL ACCOMMODATION.

Taranaki Daily News, 29 August 1922, Page 7

SCHOOL ACCOMMODATION.

NEW PLYMOUTH NEEDS. NECESSITY FOR PROMPT ACTION. DEPUTATIONS TO DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION. The Taranaki Education Board held a conference with the director of education (Mr. John Caughley, M--A-) at New Plymouth yesterday. Prior to the meeting Mr. Caughley was conducted round the various town schools. At the conference there were present: Messrs. A. Lees (Chairman), P. J. H. White, S. G. Smith, M.P., R. J. Deare and H. Dempsey. The senior inspector (Mr. T. A. Valentine) and architect (Mr. C. H. Moore) were also present. - The chairman expressed pleasure in welcoming Mr. Caughley to the board’s table. Board members, he was sure, were pleased to be able to discuss educational matters with him. The provision of adequate accommodation'Tor the New Plymouth schools was the pancipal question and it was hoped that something tangible would be put forward so that the schools could be put on a better basis. Mr. Caughley, in acknowledging the welcome extended, regretted that he could not have come sooner or stay longer on the present occasion. He hoped that towards the end of September or early in October to be able to come and see the schools in Taranaki in order to get a general idea for himself by going through the various districts. Then he hoped to spend at least a week, or possibly a -fortnight, so as to be able to get a grip of education and give consideration to the board’s requests. It was essential that the director should get into personal touch with the districts’ requirements. NOT A FAIR RUN. Mr. Smith, as a member representing the urban area, outlined the need for increased school accommodation for New Plymouth, but before doing so joined in the welcome to Mr. Caughley, who always gave reasonable consideration to all requests made to him. It was felt, however, said the epeaker, that the New Plymouth schools had not had a fair run with regard to the provision of requirements. R .'quests had been made over a long period, but had not. it was felt, been met with the response on the part of the department that they were entitled to. The making of the grant for the new Courtenay Street infant school Was appreciated. Dealing with Fitzroy School, Mr. Smith explained that the first application for a grant for new class-rooms had been abandoned, and the suggestion of the Fitzroy School Committee, which offered £250 for the purpose of extending the gymnasium and providing lockers, had been adopted by the board as a temporary expedient. There had been undue delay on the part of the department in deciding if this offer was to be accepted, and as yet no reply had been received as to whether the department favored this scheme or the building of two classrooms as the nucleus of a new school. The position was acute at Fitzroy, and, moreover, was not a new matter, having been repeatedly before the department. The people there were getting restless, and there had been talk of holding an indignation meeting. MOTUROA’S NEEDS.

Regarding a proposed school at Moturoa. continued Mr. Sm ; th. the board had been told that to some extent the department was committed to making a grant. It was a question as to whether the board, who knew the position, was to have the type of building wanted or whether the type of building th2 department wanted to be erected. The accommodation difficulty at West End was acute, and a school at Moturoa would help to relieve the pressure if a full-time or part-time school were erected at Moturoa. The school at West End had to accommodate 700 pupils, and such a matter must be regarded as serious. He urged that the question of what type of school was to be erected at Moturoa should be settled without delay.

As far as Westown was concerned, it was specially urged that a site should be -acquired immediately. It had been suggested that even if the present opportunity of securing a site were lost there would still he an opportunity later of securing suitable sites at reasonable prices, but he had made some inquiries and found that the site at present under offer was the best offer of any s ; te in the locality, for never again would an opportunity be given of buying 4 acres for cash.

At West End it was first of all asked that the board be given assistance in providing shelter sheds, for whatever was done at Moturoa and Weetown there would still he a large school at West End. The question of lavatory accommodation was also a serious one, and should be met irrespective of Moturoa and Westown claims. RAPID GROWTH OF TOWN. The enormous growth of New Plymouth had not always been realised by the department, said Mr. Smith. The town, he was convinced, would grow even more rapidly when the- slump had gone. Business men realised that the success of the harbor scheme was going to establish the prosperity of the province. and were prepared to risk their money, so great was the confidence they had in its future. He did not wish to say much about the Central School, but pointed out that whilst the board agreed to a grant for the purpose of rebuilding the CeiTtral School, they could not let matters go on as they were going. There was still a waiting list for admission to the school, and the headmaster had quite rightly refused to take in more children by putting three in a desk. It was proposed to spend portion of the rebuilding funds by shifting the south wing round to the east side, but it was pointed out that th’s would not increase accommodation one square foot. All the matters he had outlined required immediate action on the part of the department. THE DEPARTMENT UNIMFORMED. Mr. White felt that the department was not quite as well seised of the position as it should be. He stressed the growth of New Plymouth, stating that according to the 1916 census there were a little over 8000 people in New Plymouth a factor which gave the urban area the right to two members on the education board. To-day. six years later, on a conservative estimate, the New Plymouth schools had to serve 13.000 people, the borough boundaries still remaining the same as in 1916. The feature which value to business property was the

growth of the town, and in this connec- 1 tion he mentioned that land in Devon Street East, outside the central business area, had changed hands last week at £9B per foot, whilst the adjoining property had been sold six years ago at under £4O a foot. Dealing with Fitzroy School statistics, Mr. White said that the average attendance in 1918 was 188; 1919, 202; 1920, 228; 1921, 259; March quarter 1922, 298; June quarter 1922, 293. The slight decrease in the last figures was due to the fact that the headmaster had at times had to refuse to take in children owing to lack of accommodation. The roll number for the March quarter of this year was 322, and. for the June quarter, 329. A census of the houses in the Fitzroy town district had been made in 1910, when it was found there were 155 houses. To-day, within the bounds of Baring Terrace and the Waiwakaiho river there were 422 and building was still going on. The accommodation at the Fitzroy School, excluding the gymnasium, was 2633 square feet, which Was much below the average. The proposition made by the school committee in offering £250 for extending the gymnasium, providing lockers and furniture of a kind which might be transferred to a permanent room later on. was endorsed by the board only because of the difficult times, and because it would ■to some extent relieve matters in regard to infant teaching. The present conditions could not continue. Delay in educating the children was, he considered, more serious than delay in any other department, for the whole of their career was retarded and the children were held back by these adverse conditions. The board felt that it was urgently necessary that at least good and ample accommodation should be provided for infant classes. The school was fortunate in having a very fine infant mistress, who had studied modern methods, but under present conditions these could not be put into practice. A GOOD OFFER. Referring to the necessity for acquiring the Westown site, Mr. White said he could only reiterate the remarks of the previous speaker in impressing upon the department the good offer that had been made. Referring to West End, Mr. White said the acquisition of a site at Westown would not very sensibly relieve West End. While the school at Moturoa would be filled at once if full provision for 150 children were made, this school would reduce the West End roll by 100 to 110 at the most, but with the new year there would be another influx of scholars.

At the present time there were in the Moturoa district many children between the ages of 5 and 7 who had not yet started school, but would do so if a school were erected there. Some time ago an independent enumeration showed that there were eighty children of tender years in the Moturoa and Spotswood districts. The speaker pointed out that the necessity for extra lavatory accommodation at West End would not be lessened by a temporarv reduction in roll number by +be establishment of new schools. The board, he was afraid, had no solution of the playground problem at West End. but regretted that the opportunity to acquire more ground had been lost. Though a school at. Westown would to some extent relieve West End he was of opinion that there would always be a school of at least from 400 to 500 children at West End. Touching upon matters connected with the Cefitral School Mr. White said that with the opening of the new infant school a largely increased attendance was assured. The chairman endorsed the remarks of the previous speaker, especially with regard to the growth of New Plymouth making more school accommodation necessary. New Plymouth, he said, had

a big dairy district behind it and. as the land was being subdivided, the effects of more production and more population in the country must be reflected in the town. THE DIRECTOR’S REPLY. Tn replying, Mr. Caughley explained that he had not been in close touch with the sites and building aspects of education when assistant director and even since his appointment as director in May. 1921, he had not been able to give as much attention as he would have liked to the Question, because an assistant director had not yet been appointed However, it was expected that this appointment would be made before the end of the present month, when he proposed to free himself of office routine in order to become better acquainted with the needs of primary schools and other branches of education throughout New Zealand. Regarding the accommodation at New Plymouth, he could readily see by the visit paid to the schools tfiat morning, even though the children were not there, what the conditions were. He had made investigations into the accommodation difficulty throughout the Dominion and had found the position most acute in the Auckland district. It was not acute in the South Island, whilst Hawkes Bay a.nd Wanga nui were not badly off. He had then come to the conclusion that Auckland was far and away the worst off. but now that he had seen the schools here he thought New Plymouth ran Auckland verv closely. There had evidently been , an abnormal growth here, as the number of buildings showed. In his tour of inspection that morning he had seen more new buildings than were to be seen in the whole city of Wellington, where the house shortage was-so acute. The effect of this must be to cause great congestion in the schools, for while man'’ new houses had been erected there wefp no new schools in the town. An odd room or two would not relieve a fifty per cent, increase in population. He was certainly of the opinion that New Plymouth and Auckland had the most congested and overcrowded schools he had seen. All he could say to the board was that, in reference to the various propositions before the department, he. would promise that as soon as he returned to Wellington he would undertake to exnedite as far as he could any decisions that were pending. Temporary relief, he could *e» necessarv at Fitzroy. as was also latrines and adeouate shelter shed provision at West End. With regard to Moturoa he would endeavor to get a definite reply. The design of the building should be settled and the school erected so as to relieve 'West End. The Westown site was. he considered, a. very fine one. being as near as was wanted in order to deal with the needs of that area, whilst the offer was a good one. Naturally the appl’cations would have to be passed by the Government, whilst, some would have to be approved by Cabinet. Mr. White explained that a grant of £2600 was required fnr the Moturoa School to provide accommodation for 150 children The hoard had offered’ £5OO from its rebuilding fund towards the expenses. Continuing. Mr. Caughlcv promised to try to expedite matters. These matters

must be threshed out and he would see what could be done to get decisions given in the cases brought before his notice. Although on the whole the Government seemed adverse from acquiring sites a long way ahead, yet no doubt there was wisdom in acquiring sites for schools when favorable opportunities presented themselves. In Auckland the Government had in some instances bought the last bit of land available. He was sure that if some sections had been bought, even half speculatively, a profit of from thirty to fifty per cent, could be made to-day. Mr. Caughley, epeaking in reference to the needs of New Plymouth in the matter of school accommodation, said he could now see things much clearer, and he would see that the board secured a reply by the end of the week to the various representations made to the department. a . OTHER NEEDS. ' The chairman then brought under notice of the director matters connected with Glenn Road where a school was required at an estimated cost of £545, and at Oeo, where the increase in attendance rendered enlargement to the school necessary, the estimated cost being £274. Mr. Lees pointed out that the increased production and the large amount of share-milking in South Taranaki made increased school accommodation necessary, and he asked that these two cases be considered as specially urgent. These remarks were supplemented by Mr. White, and Mr. Caughley promised to investigate the position on his return to Wellington. TECHNICAL SCHOOLS. Matters in connection with the boards of management for technical schools were also mentioned by the chairman, who said the board was anxious to have these boards put on a proper basis. Mr. Caughley replied that everything would be ready for the elections to 'be held sometime before October 1. There being no further matters to bring forward, the chairman thanked Mr. Caughley, and said that he would find that the board had not in any way understated the case. .Taranaki was on the up-grade, and the applications being made now were but forerunners of others that would have to be made in the future. Mr. Caughley thanked the board and said that he hoped to visit Taranaki again in about a month’s time.