79

E.—l

Teachers.—At the close of the year there were employed by the Board 89 teachers and 11 sewing mistresses, being an increase on the previous year of 5 teachers and 1 sewing mistress. The classification of their appointments was as follows.* Buildings.—The principal work undertaken by the Board during the past year has been the erection of new school-buildings in the Borough .of Waimate. The existing school is a wooden building on a large and valuable site in the principal street of the town. By virtue of a special Act of Parliament the Board were empowered to sell this site, together with the old buildings, and to apply the proceeds to the erection of new and substantial buildings on a more suitable site, reserved away from the main thoroughfare. A part of the old site and the master's residence were sold by auction for £1,095, and a contract for new buildings, in brick, on the new site was then entered into for £2,994. The sale of the remaining sections and buildings will reduce the Board's outlay on the new school by about £800. New schools, in wood, have also been erected for the Districts of Albury, Gapes Valley, Seaview, Kingsdown, Makikihi, and Redcliffe, at a cost of about £250 each, including furniture and apparatus. The Milford, Kakaku, and Waitohi Flat Schools have been enlarged, by the addition of class-rooms, at a cost in each case of £150. A considerable amount, in the aggregate, has also been expended on ordinary repairs and small improvements. A detailed statement of the amount expended from the Building Fund on each school will be found in Return appended.f Many pressing works in connection with existing schools, as well as the erection of new school-buildings and teachers' residences, have been deferred indefinitely, or refused altogether, on account of the inadequacy of the annual building grants received from Government. In several districts the residents have been compelled to supplement the grants made by the Board, and in a few cases the residents have taken steps to raise the whole of the money required to erect the necessary buildings, on the understanding that the expenditure would be refunded by the Board at a future date. For some years to come the Board must experience the same difficulties in allocating their building grants, unless a far more liberal vote is made by Government, as so much, of each year's vote is expended in repairing or replacing by substantial structures the old wooden buildings erected by the Canterbury Provincial Government. Financial. —-The annual balance-sheet, duly certified to by the Provincial Auditor, is appended. The Building Account shows receipts £4,480 7s. 8d., and expenditure £4,738 2s. 7d., necessitating a temporary draft on the Maintenance Account of £257 14s. lid. This amount will be transferred from the building grant of the current year. The Maintenance Account shows receipts £12,036 lis. 2d., expenditure £10,703 15s. lid., giving a credit balance of £1,332 15s. 3d.; but from this latter amount must be deducted £581 15s. 6d., to be refunded to the Education Department on account of receipts from the School Commissioners, and £54 Is., payments due to teachers on the 31st December, but not paid, leaving an actual credit balance on the Maintenance Account of £999 9s. 8d. The balance to this account at the end of 1881 was £269 7s. 10d., so that the general business of the Board has been conducted with a saving of £730 Is. .lDd. for the year. This satisfactory result is, however, mainly due to the small expenditure on account of the Board's staff, and to the special capitation grant of 5s., from which source £327 17s. 6d. was received during the year. * See Minister's report, Table F. t Appendix —Table No. 9, page 31.

Quarter ending «H O . £ § p O g § is Avei •age Attendance. March 31st, 1878 .. June 30th, 1878 September 30th, 1878 December 31st, 1878 March 31st, 1879 .. June 30th, 1879 September 30th, 1879 December 31st, 1879 March 31st, 1880 June 30th, 1880 September 30th, 1880 December 31st, 1880 March 31st, 1881 June 30th, 1881 September 30th, 1881 December 31st, 1881 March 31st, 1882 June 30th, 1882 September 30th, 1882 December 31st, 1882 16 16 17 17 18 21 24 29 29 29 29 29 34 34 35 35 35 35 39 39 56 59 60 56 58 63 70 77 79 79 78 80 81 82 82 84 84 84 88 89 2,467 2,458 2,510 2,666 2,710 2,833 3,029 3,203 3,346 3,365 3,470 3,506 3,675 3,656 2,734 3,531 3,656 3,571 3,814 3,853 Male. 930 897 931 1,005 981 1,068 1.123 1,241 1.217 1,292 1,361 1,381 1,402 1,361 1,329 1,364 1,358 1,342 1,511 1,532 Female. 814 754 811 872 864 911 954 1,083 1,121 1,167 1,181 1,235 1,308 1,190 1,186 1,249 1,300 1,246 1,398 1,412 Total. 1,744 1,651 1,742 1,877 1,845 1,979 2,077 2,324 2,338 2,459 2,542 2,616 2.710 2,551 2,515 2,613 2,658 2,588 2,909 2,944 1,753 2,056 2,489 2,597 2,861