ELECTION OF SCHOOL COMMITTEES.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1728, 24 April 1888, Page 2

ELECTION OF SCHOOL COMMITTEES.

IS i • ■ ■r, • • The annual election of School 1 Com* mittees took place last evening. ' V TEMUKA. THE OUTfIOIN# CoifMim*. „ A meeting of the School Committee was held at a quarter to seven o’clock. Present—Messrs Q. M. Miles (Chairman), 6. Brown, A. Russell, J. Davis, and A, W. Surridge. The minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed, and the meeting terminated with a vote of tbanks to the Chairman.

MEETIST<J OP HOUSEHOLDERS. The annual meeting ot householders for the purpose of electing a committee for the ensuing year took place at 7 o’clock. There was a la'go Bttondance, and oQ the motion of Mr Hayhuret, seconded by Mr Copestnke, the Ch iirm m of the ou'going Committee, Mr H. M. Miles, was rated to the chair. MINUTES. Mr Leo wanted to know whether it was not a question whether the. minutes should ha confirmed. He supposed that after they were confirmed no questions could he asked the retiring Committee. > The Chairman said questions could he asked when the report and balance-sheet presents! by tbs retiring Committee were read.

On the motion of Mr Aspinall, seconded by Mr H. Lee, the minutes of the last annual meeting were read and confirmed.

RETORT AND BALANCE-SHEET. Mr Rout, the tiecrotary. then. read the report and bilaucc-shcet for the year ending 23rd April. The report was aa follows; 1. Staff.—The staff is the same as it waa. at tbii time laat year, with two exceptions, via., Mies Bows and Ur Wm. Aokroyd. The former having resigned her politico aa fourth teacher, the board have been aekedto call (or applications for (ha post. This his been done, and it will devolve upon the new Committee to be elected to-night to consider the application*, which are expected to be received before the close of the current month. The latter (Mr Aokroyd) is an additional teacher.

2. Attendance. —The attendance during the pait year ha* been rather better than in the previous year, which will no donbt be considered satisfactory. The pupils taking advantage of secondary education now number fourteen, as against nineteen at (hie time last year. 3. Buildings.—Tbaee eontinne to he in fair repair. 4. Meetings.—Twelve ordinary and three ■pedal meetings have been held during (he past year, at all of which the attendance hae been good. The seven members of committee elected by yon last year have all continued In office up to tbia time. 5. Fineness.—This committee commenced with a credit balance of Alt Os fid—Hie present credit balance is 16s lOd. At first light this wonld appear unsatisfactory. The earns of the amount being reduced is that the retiring committee have during their term of ' office only received three quarterly incidental grants, (he fourth, amounting to abont 412, will no donbt be to hand at the end' of the present month. Ton arc doubtless aware that the beard lately zedneed (he incidental grant by 15 per cent, which compelled the committee to reduce the janitor’s salary (tom £4O to £3O per annum. The retiring committee desire to express the wish (hat In future parents and guardians will be more liberal in their contributions to the fuel and stationery fund. 6. Inspector's Report,—With reference to this matter, which, no doubt, many of yon considered very unsatisfactory a short time since, the percentage of paiaee being ahoifn ,by the inspector u 32.6, while (cilnrea appeared as 38 8, your retiring committee regret that so extract 3 inary a mode ot calculating percentages should be adopted. It seems decidedly unfair to th# reputation of the school that (host pupils who passed in the preparatory classes should count against the panes of (he other classes when calculating the percentages, as also did this absent pupi's and the excepted one*. Had the former, via., those who pawed in the preparatory classes, been counted in favor of the passes of the whole school, and the absent and excepted not been considered in (he calculation of the percentages, the result

would hat# been: Percentage of panel, 7f 6832 } percentage of failure*, 22 816*322. 7, Prize fond.—At lait annual meeting the balance to credit of thiifnnd wa»£1018s XOd. Prises were awarded last December coating £Bl6s 6d, ao that with proceed* of concert held in December, £8 10s 3d, there now remains £lO ■ ■ . H. W. Mins, Chairman. The balance-sheet showed the receipts amounted to £Bll6*9d, ineludin| incidental Sant from board of £1312s 7d, special grant >m board £3, fuel and stationery fees £l9 Is 3d, net proceeds of concert £l 2a 6i. The expenditure wae £Bl Oi lid, and included laniter'sealaty, £36 16s Bdj Secretary's do, £lO j repairs; alterations, ate., £10; stationery, £ll ?*; * nd firewood, £9 li s - printing and advertiling, 16a 6dj and sweeping chimneys and sundries, £2 1»- There was thus a credit balance oftfi. lOd, The prize fund Bcoottot ihowed tbit. th§ yw coinnwDocd with a credit balance of £lO 18s 101, and ended with a credit balance of £io 12s 7d, Tha net proeeade of concert got up in aid of the prize fund amounted to £Blos 3d, and the expenditure for prize* was £Bl6s 6d,

Mr T. Primer said ha understood that the report of Che retiring committee wished that parents and guardian* should contribute more liberally for fuel and stationery. He w*s a parent, and be believed be had as many children at the school as any one. He considered there was no encouragement to the children to give anything, owing to the way the school was conducted. ' If there was no improvement he should take his children away. If there vitas a good master be should send his children to Winchester. . The Chairman'said if Mr Palmer hid anything to complain of it would be better to bring if before the Committee, and they could investigate tbs matter end remedy the cause-of complaint if possible. Mr Palmer saitj thtt seemed the only chance the parents had. He saw that the visitors reported everything was going along satisfactorily. Ho wished to know whether the teachers knsw when the visitors would go. The Chairman Vaid No. The visitors went when they Irked. Mr Palmer said he saw the visitors reported that everything was going along satisfactorily. He was sure if he went, through the sehool he would be able to see something wrong. The Chairman said. if Mr Palmer had any complaint to make he should bring it before the Committee,

Mr Palmer laid he was doing so now. Mr Job Brown thought that the Chair man should move the adoption of the report and balance-sheet. The Chairman moved that the report and ba)ance->heet be adopted. Mr Bolton e»id ~h<a believed that the report laid that 77 per sent of the children bad passed. Was that the case I The Secretary stated that all the children in the preparatory classes who had pissed were placed against the passes in the whole school, so that if they bad 300 children in the preparatory classes and 100 in the higher olasies the best percentage they could possibly get would be 30 per cent. They did not count with the failures, but they counted against the passes. He had a copy of the first sheet of the Inspector’s report, and would show any one the mode by which the Inspector arrived at his results, aqd the mode by which he (the Secretary) arrived at his. After soma further debate ai to the mode by which the Inspector calculated his percentages. Mr Bolton said he jnpposed the Inspector wou'd make his calculations on the same basis as last year! Had the school gone back on that calculation. Was the percentage of passes leas this year than last year f The Secretary said he bad not the figures with him, but be believed that the puna wen less. Mr Palmer thought'there would be no pastes at all in two or three years. He wished to know was ' the percentage of passes worse since the school had been made a District High School and they had obtained the services of a properly qualified teacher than they were before } The Chairman ssid ho cduld not answer that. He could only answer for the last twelve months.

Mr Palmer than asked "tlxo Secretary if he could answer the question; The Secretary said he could hot, A householder wished to know if it was true fthat children who did not pay fuel fees were not allowed to go near the fire 1

The Chairman: No. Mr J. Brown wished to knoyr the difference between the amount subscribed for fuel and stationery end the amount expended I The Chairman aaid about £2.

Mr Aspinall asked what Would be (lie amount the new Committee would have to start with. Was there a grant for incidentals due from the Board / The Chairman aaid the new Committee would have the balance now in hand of lit lOd, and a grant of about £l2 at the end of the month from the Board.

In raply to a further • question the Chairman said all the accounts due were paid, and at the end of. the month the only debt would bo the janitor's salary, about £2los.

Mr Winning said the Statement made by the inepector with regard to failures and passes was an extraordinary,one. It was something very differehttbwhatheliad been accustomed to in school life. The Inspector said the preparatory classes were taught with care. That would imply that the advanced classes!were not taught with Then he said: again that the whole of the preparatory classes were taught with good results, and the report 1 showed that the advanced classes act taught with good results. 1 He said further that the results of the inspection were not satisfactory. He (Mr Winning) was in the position of i parent having children going into the upper classes, and aa the report showed that few children in those •lusees had passed he would like to know what the Committee hod done to make any improvement. What had been done to alter this * He spoke in ignorance of the way echool matters were eooducted here, but in Scotland, two things went to make op a statement. A boy or girl must make a certain Dumber of passes or be or she could dot pass. The remarks in the inspector’s report seemed to imply that the CoraBitter ought to look into the. matter, and find out the sore, if sore there was. He oid not think it was satisfactory to know that there was a good number of boys and girla passing the preparatoiy classes. That, was a small matter. But they wanted their children to pass the skib, stb| and 6th standard!, so that they could

go and take their places omongat the workers of the world. The Chairman explained that after the Committee bad been in office three months, they had a list made out of those children who attended badly and looked them np. They had not been neglected by the Committee. With regard to tho other matter be could only state that tho Board of Education held an enqniry into the organisation and management of the school, and a fresh seal* had been submitted to them of which they approved of, tad this wae now being carried out. Mr Winning ; The Committee are of opinion that the malts which are likely to be obtained at the next annual meeting will be far more eatiafaotory. la that their belief? Mr Palmer said next year tbara would be no passes. . The Chairman said the Committee expected for better results. Mr Palmer: What are the reasone I The Chairman : Merely because the staff are doing their best, . Mr Palmer said after the fourth standard they got bad teachers. Hp would give them an instance. He bad a boy of 14 attending school, who had been attending . egularly for 8 year*. Ho had not pasted the 4tb standard, and be ought to be at home ploughing. At the present rate of things it would be another 8 years before he could pass the sixth standard. The Chairman said if they thought the Committee had not done their duty they could elect other members. , Mr Palmer said he did not wish that to be inferred. Mr E. Brown testified to the good progress his children had made in the school. He had children there only a short length of time and they were now as high as they could get. Mr Wills aaid if anyone was to blame it was the teachers. Ic reply to Mr Pa'mer the Chairman said as fur as he was concerned when he visited the school he went through every room. ■Mr Morton gave an instance of the good progress of two of his children in the school, and said if it was favoritism it was unknown to him. Mr Wills also testified to tho progress made by one of his children. . After some further discussion, in which Mr Palmer, Mr Cooke, and Mr Wills took part, Mr J. Brown said he had very great pleasure in seconding the motion proposed by the Chairman. The Committee had not power to say to a teacher you must go” if they were dissatisfied. They could look after the fires, and see that the roof did not leak, but at to touching the staff, that rested with the Board and Inspector, He thought the Committee wanted more power, and perhaps the work of looking after the school might be done better by two or three individuate than by seven or eight as now. The motion was then put and carried unanimously. Mr J. Brown thought they ought to give the outgoing Committee their due. He had great pleasure in proposing a hearty veto of thanks for the able manner in which they had conducted school matters during the year. The notion was seconded by Mr Bolton •ad carried. The Chairman briefly returned thanks. ELECTION OV COMMITTEE, The election of a.Committee was then proceeded with. Messrs J. J. Heap and Cooke were appointed scrutineers. The ballot resulted as follows : J. Blyth 66 J. T. M. Hayhuret ... 63 K. F. Gray ,56 a. M. Clark 54 James Winning ... ... 40 A. R. Allan ... ... 34 E. Brown ... ... 31 W. Wills ... ... 25 T. Palmsr 24 W. 6. Aspinall ... ... 21 A. Russell ... ... 19 J Davis ... ... 18 J. W. Y«lvin 16 £, Valleeder ... ... 9 Sixty-seven householders voted. A nnraber of other gentlemen were proposed, but declined to stand. The Chairman declared the first seven duly elected. Tho meeting terminated with a vote of thanks to the scrutineers and the Chairman.

NEW COMMITTEE. A meeting of the new Committee was Veld immediately after the public meeting, when Mr Hayhurat was elected Chairman.

Mr Ackroyd wrote, resigning his position ae pupil teacher.—-The resignation whs accepted, ard the Secretary wua ins'ructed to advise ths Board of Education ef the same. It was decided to call for tenders for the supply of coal and firewood for the ensuing quarter, tenders to be in by next meeting.

It was agreed to hold the regular meetings on third Tuesday in each month, at half-past seven, as hitherto. The Secretary intimoted that there would be a special meeting shortly,, and it was therefore decided to consider tenders then if possible, Mr H, A. Rout was re-appointed Secretary at former remuneration. The Chairman was appointed Visitor for the month, and the meeting terminated in tba usual way. WINCHESTER ' About 90 householders attended at (he Winchester meeting, and Mr IX Inwood was voted to the chair. The following Committee was appointed, viz.:—Messrs Corcoran, lowpocl, Norlhara,, Birker, Deßenzy, Philp, and Bishop. A full report will appear in our next.