ANNUAL MEETING OF HOUSEHOLDERS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 348, 29 January 1881, Page 2

ANNUAL MEETING OF HOUSEHOLDERS.

MILFORD. The annua] general meeting of the householders within the school district of Milford was held on Monday evening. The assembled householders proceeded to elect Mr Wareing .is Chairman, who. opened the meeting by reading over the minutes of last year's general meeting. These confirmed, Mr Cox, the Chairman of the School Committee, vyas called upon to read the report of the Committee for the past year, as follows : " Your Committee submits the following report of its proceedings, its receipts and expenditure during the year ending Jan. 24th, 1881 : "It will be retnemnered that the annual general meeting for the year 1880, which the Act provides shall be he ; d on the fourth Monday in the month of January in each year, was, owing to the circumstance of there being no attendance of householders on that day, not held until the 3rd of March. During theteuure of office by jour Committee there has been an entire change in the teaching staff of the school. Mr Craig, the late head teacher, his daughter, the pupil teichei, and the sewing mistress, having in August last resigned their respective appointments at Milford io enter upon similar duties elsewhere.

'•That usual preliminary steps having been taken by the Board to secure applica tions for the appointment, the recommendation of the Committee that Mr Mobsman be appointed thereto was adopted. Mr Mosstnan entered upon his duties in August last, and for some time, owing partly to the insufljcieucy of tlio salary offered for the work of pupil teacher and to other causes, had to do the whole .vork of the school unasaisted. Subsequently, however, a pupil teacher was appointed and has ever since been in regular attendance at the school performing the duties attached to the office. There is also now a sewing mistress. " Accompanying this report the Committee beg to lay before the householders a written report made by the head teacher as to the state and requirements of the school at the eud of the year 1880.

" In the matter of additions and improvements to the school buildings during the past year, your Committee have not much to report, no graut of money for such purposes having during the year been made by the Board. There have been, however (paid for out of ' incidentals'), set up at small cost, out of door lavatoriei bdtli for the boys and lor the girh. The closets have been repaired and cleansed, and a contract has beeu entered into to keep them in proper condition. * Impairs ha vo also been made to the gymnastic bar.s and to the pump, and certain other small matters have been attended to calculated to promote the convenience and comfort of the children attending the school. The actual cost of these additions and improvements is shown in the vouchers examined by the auditor.

" IJoiueholders aro no doubt aware that the Education Board have been compered to exercise a rigid economy in the matter of expenditure. Teachers' salaries have been reduced ; the grant for incidentals curtailed, and small a matter as it really appears, the auditor's fee of one guinea has been withheld for this year. Further, the faot of there being no provision made, or no contribution given by the Board towards a school prize fund, rendered it necessary for the Committee to raise mouey for such purpose by an entertainmeut given in the schoolroom, the proceeds, supplemented by a small contribution out of incidentals, have been sufficient to cover the cost of the prises purchased and distributed last Friday. It may be mentioned here that the prizes and awards have been bestowed on the basis of the half-year or year's work, taking into account also general good conduct and punctuality in attendance at school.

" Tlie Committee have to report that they found it necessary to serve notices on three of the paxents living in the district for tl\e nou-attendanco at school of their children. The result has been satisfactory Other arrangements in reference to the enforcement of the compulsory clauses of the Act have been lately sanotiojed by authority which to some extent will relieve the Committee of this not very agreeable duty, but their responsibility will still exist, as these compulsory clauses cannot be legally enforced until such has been determined by a special resolution of the Committee. "The Committee have been called upon to recommend for election to the Education Board two persons to fill the vacancies occasioned by the retirement of Messrs Barclay, Howell and Belfield. They have, in obedience to the invitation, recommended Messrs Barclay and Howell.

"It will be seen by a perusal of the attendance, returns that the average attendance of both boys and girls is on the increase . " So far as your Committee have had the opportunity of judgiDg, they are of opinion that the school work done by the head teacher, Mr Mossman, ia well done, and that the system adopted by him in the teaching of the children i"b simple and

satisfactory. The inspector's report of the past year's work, and the present state ot the school, has not yet been sent in, but the Head Teacher's report, and the progress of the children, afford good grounds for parents believing that their children are in the hands, and under Ihe control, of iin able and painstaking teacher.

4 Mr Mossuian has in addition lo his other duties, undertaken a singing class, apparently embracing nearly the whole of the scholars, young and old, who seem to be making good progress. " The following is a summary of receipts and expenditure for the year : RECEIPTS. £ s d. To pay salaries 172 17 2 Cover incidentals ... 20 9 8 Balance in Bank, January, 2Gth, 1880 6 6 3 £2OB 13 1 EXPENDITURE. £ H d. To salaries 172 17 2 Incidentals 30 10 8 Balance in Bank, January, sth, 1881 ... 5 5 3 £2OB 13 1 The above report having been read, it was proposed by Mr Christmas, and seconded by Mr Parke—" That the report as read be adopted." Carried unanimously. Mr Christmas then proposed a hearty vote of thanks to the retiring Committee and the Chairman, Mr Cox, for the able manner in which school matters had been conducted for the past year. This also was seconded by Mr Parke and carried unanimously. The following householders were then elected to form a Committee for the current j - ear . Messrs Woodhead, Woodley, Cox, Parke, Christmas, Colville, and White-

The thanks of the meetiug having been voted to Mr Wareing for acting as Chairman, the new Committee met, and unanimously elected Mr Cox as their Chairman, and after fixing upon the first Monday in the month as their regular clay of meeting separated.

TEMUKA. The following is the Report read at the annual meeting of householders on Monday evening last : OrEXTLEitEN, —ln compliance with the Education Act of 1877, your Committee submit for approval their annual report, and in doing so regret that they are unable in several respects to present a more satisfactory one. The staff during the past year consisted of the same teachers as the previous year, with the exception of Miss Young, infant mistress, who resigned early in February, Miss Ball, of Timaru, taking temporary charge of that department in a most efficient manner until the appointment of "vliss Mathias to the vacancy. The latter lady having resigned in December, through ill-health, the sc'.iool has since been without an infant mistress, the Education Board, in view of alterations in the teaching staff, not considering it advisable to make f urth:;r appointments until the Committee had had an opportunity of revising the staff of the school in accordance with the new scale. A recommendation of your Committee for the appointment of Miss tfuy as pupil teacher was likewise held over by the Education Board for the same reason. Your Committee's term of office nearly expiring, it was deemed advisablo that the incoming Committee should undertake the task of revision. The Inspector's report on the annual examination, held on December 6th and 7th, 1880, shows that although the average standard of attainment throughout the school continues good, and that the teaching has been very comprehensive, the per centage of passes (39.7) shows a falling off from the previous year's rosults. The Inspector considers this to have been caused by the adoption in some subjects of a too ambitious course ; by the want of a periodical testing on the basis of the Government requirements ; and by the use in reading and spelling of a book too advanced. Your Committee, however, believe that the great cause of the declino has been the over-crowded state of every room in the school, which has prevented any possibility of the teachers' exertions meeting with merited success. This is also the opinion of the Inspector so far as the infant department is concerned. The Inspector suggests that an infant school should be built on the new site. This suggestion, if carried out, would relieve the main school, and allow the upper classes to be taught in separate rooms, and your Committee therefore trust that their successors will endeavor to have this necessary building erected as soon as posssible. Your Committee, after repeated applications to the Board for a partition to be erected in the school for the purpose of dividing some of the classes, have at last succeeded in haviug a tender accepted for the work.

The erection of lavatory rnd other outside accommodation, commenced before your Committee took office, has since been completed, but at the present time certain repairs are required to them. In connection with this part of the school, and also to explain the very unsatisfactory position of financial matters, your Committee desire to state that when the above buildings were erected they found that the incidental grant (at that time at the rate of £7O per annum) would not allow these premises to be kept in a proper sanitary condition, and at the same time provide for the ordinary expenses of tho school ; therefor© Mr Wilson (Chairman) and Mr Gray had an interview with the Education Board on the subject in March, when the Board, after duly considering the statements of the deputation, decided to increase the incidental grant by £22, so as to enable a janitor to be engaged at a salary of L 52 per

year, and during the year the sum of £SO 19s 6d has been paid to him, whilst only £65 43 Id has been received for incidentals, through the Education Board not carrying out the arrangement entered into. Your Committer, feeling it their duty to prevent the health of the schqql children being undermined, believed they were perfectly justified in maintaining the janitor at the school, and in paying his wages out of the sum of £2O which you wdl perceive, from the following summary of receipts and expenditure, had been placed to their credit fqr planting the new school site : RECEIPTS. £ s. d. To Balance from 1879 2 10 4 Salariss, 1880 643 2 1 Incidental grant 65 4 1 Panting grant 20 0 0 Partition ... 9 18 6 Pupil Teachers' examination expenses 9 10 6 Refund for fencing (1879)... 7 15 11 Auditors, 1880 and 1881 :.. 3 3 0 Total £761 4 5 EXPENDITURE. By Salaries 643 2 1 Janitor 50 19 6 Fuel 16 15 2 Secretary 7 10 0. Apparatus, &c, 12 7 4 Pupil Teachers' examination expenses ... ... ... 9 10 6 Small accounts, including audit 1880 ... ... 8 2 4 Balance 12 17 6

Total £761 4 5 Outstanding incidental account £761 4 5

Including this £lO 3s 4d,tho total amount chargeable to the incidental fund is L 97 9d, or L3l 6a ' d in excess of the amount actually voted, but only L 5 9d more than your Committee expected to receive when the Education Board sanctioned the appointment of a janitor. Partition, L 9 18s 6d ; audit, 1881, LI Is ; and balance of planting grant, LI 18s, are the particulars of the Ll2 17s 6d at the credit of Committee at Bank of Hew Zealand.

Your Committee, considering it a matter of regret that several children should be allowed ta go untaught, took steps under the compulsory clauses of the Education Act to compel their attendance at school, and required notices to defaulting parents wore served ; but unfortunately when the cases wore brought before the Resident Magistrate's Court, the informations were dismissed on the ground that the janitor, who served the notioes, could not prove such service as required by the law, but it is a scource of gratification to state that the police are now instructed by Government to assist the School Committees in various ways in regard to these clauses, and your Committee will be glad to hear that their successors will endeavor to enforoe the attendance at school of children, who at the present time are allowed by their parents to roam about the streets.

During the ye-ir two eoueoi't* in aid of the School Prize Fund have been held, one for the purpose of defraying a liability of £lO 17s lid incurred by the Committee who held office in 1879 ; the other to obtain the prizes which your Committee had the pleasure to distribute on Friday last. Your Committee take this opportunity of publicly thanking those ladies and gentlemen who assisted in a marked degree in making these concerts suoh a financial succoss.

One of the great disadvantages in connection with the Tenluka School is the present constitution of the Board of Education. No member of that Board in the slightest degree represents this district, and the vital interest of the school suffer in consequence. It would therefore be to the groat benefit of the school should the incoming Committee nominate and succeed in getting elected a gentleman who would endeavor to obtain for the school its due meed of justice at the hands of the Board.

Twelve monthly and five special Committee meetings have been held during the year, with an average attendance of six members, who it is needless to say have always had inview the advancement of the school, and although it has in several instances been a severe struggle to obtain a number of benefits which the school was entitled to, and now enjoys, your Committee will feel amply repaid if their transactions during their term of office meet with your approval.