ELECTION OF A SCHOOL COMMITTEE AT GERALDINE.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1756, 28 June 1888, Page 2

ELECTION OF A SCHOOL COMMITTEE AT GERALDINE.

A meeting of householders for the purpose of electing a School Com? mittee, in the room of that thrown out by the S C. Board of. Education on appeal, was held in. the schbb.l: house on Monday evening last.. . Mr Maslin, Chairman of. tlie 6Jd Committee, was voted to the. chair, and explained the purpose of the meeting. He also stated that the old Committee were quite, willing to. giye place to another, if the householders wished it. At tbo same timpy iJE thej were re-elected,;, they would do.their duty to the best of their abilities.' He regretted that another election was necessary, and questioned: if any School Committee in Geraldine had beeplegally elected,asthe househplders hadalways refused the nominatibn of a person whose consent had npt been received in writing; i However;, they were how better informed, and ;Wbuld take care that no such mistjikeS" occurred inthe future. l J , s

Mr. Taylor asked that the .house* holders' qualification clause ~of the Education Act might be. read. ‘ 4 The Chairman complied. - . „ In answer to a question by Mr Aitken (the master), Mr Shiers-stated that previous to the formermeeting ot householders he had told Mr Aitken that he (Mr Shiers) bad no objection to stand for the Committee, if be was nominated. He further stated that he was not able to he present at the meeting that evening. The Chairman said he was glad to hear the statement of Mr Shiers. His had heard it from several that Mr Shiers had given Mr Aitken to nhde£ stand that if he were willing tostand he would be present, and they had taken the fact of his .'absence as an indication that be did - not' intend to stand. He supposed that was'how the report had arisen with regard to Mr Aitken not having‘received Mr Shiers’ consent to he nominated. The following persons were nominated as Committeemen :; Messrs W. S. Maslin, G. Taylor, J. W. Pye; N. Dunlop, C; E. Shhiratt, J. Hiordan, J. Mundell; W. Shiers, W, Coltman, ] The first seven were ‘ the, members of the ousted Committee.

Mosers Mundell v and Shiers with* drew their names, and the remaining seven were declared T dUlyelected. The Chairman thanked the householders for their confidence, and stated his intention to do all ni hil power foif the welfare of the district, and to' act impartially to all parties. Mr A. Sherratt asked if there was any prospect of getting thenew school

yet."' /■ '■ The Chairman said the [ Committee had done all they cdpld in the natter. The Board of Education .had,pat ddfrn £BOO for the school,'but' the amount they were to : receive had been so much cut down that they would only be able to devote about/'£2oo this year. That Amount' had been earmarked for the purpose/ and would be supplemented yearly. The?Boar# were also getting an/ Enabling Bill passed, to enable them to sell the, sections opposite the Bank bf New Zealand, when they hoped t6,'; get almost enough to erect thd ,scho6l. The Committee had Also sent theßoard an estimate of the work required to make the present school habitable. The estimate was between £7O and. £BO, and, while not ad rising^'the Board to expend that ram, ai the buildings, if sold, -would hot'recoup them the outlay, the Board had-de-cided to call for tenders for the work.

Mr Pearpoirii, as a member of the Board of Education, stated that the Board, although not being able to see their way clear te erect the new school for some time to come, ’had still seen the absolute necessity of doing something to the present 1 buildings, and had decided to call for tenders for the work! Ho could inform the meeting that the necessity for the new building was recognised among the members of the Board, and sums would be set aside yearly for the purpose. The building when erected wOuld probably be Of brick. In reply to Mr Cunningham, Mr Fearpcint said the repairs contemplated would not come out of the first amount earmarked.

The meeting of householders them terminated, several of those present expressing the opinion that the elec*tion had been illegal owing to no ballot haring been taken, , and con* tending that a ballot- was, according to the Education Act, necessary, even though only the seven persons required were nominated. Committee Meethtg. A meeting of the new Committee elected Chairman and Mr j. Pye Secretary. A wordy and somewhat heated discussion took place among the members as to the legality’or; otherwise of the election Jusfc Jbeld-: The Chairman said he would submit the question to the Board. The Chairman gaye a short resume of the actions of the ousted Committee, and : the same were ratified. nrspßc son’s bepoet. The Inspector’s repdrt, ; which proved to be an excellent one, was laid upon the table. It showed the staff to be as follows-Head master, James Aitken, B A.; mistress, Miss M, 0. Pearson; assistant, Mr Harry Smith; pupil teachers, Miss F. Hawke, 3rd year, and J. Colbert aud ; ; R. Stonehouse, Ist year. The staff was considered satisfactory, number .of children on the; *pll its*

BhoWQ to be 252, with an average liat quarter of 246. The average attendance’ for the year was 201, and for the present quarter 200. inspector's remarks Time tables: suitable. Methods; The school is in very good working order, the only showing any prominent weakness being Clast lll.,hut it is to be remembered that the difficulties of this standard are exceptionally great. Order and discipline: Very good. Manners: Good. Buildings; The buildings are in a very bad condition. The repairs most urgently needed are correctly stated in the letter of May 2nd from the Chairman of the School Committee. Accommodation: Sufficient. Cleanliness: Satisfactory. 1: "' V lINA2TCE. ■ It was decided that cheques should he sighed by the Chairmen and one member of the Committee, and that the janitor’s account be jiaid monthly. Several imaU accounts were passed for payment ; VISITORS. Messrs Dunlop and Coltman were .appointed visions for the month, and. some repairs to the fence and fireplace were left in their hands. ■' '*■ 3JATE Or MEETING. it was decided to meet on the last Wednesday in each month, the mempost cards. \ Me meeting then closed.