Appendix A.]

E.—2.

The Board has taken over the building and painting staffs of the old South Canterbury Board, and has an assistant architect stationed in Timaru. The workshops there are being used for the manufacture of school furniture, joinery, &c. The Board has decided to establish a workshop in Christchurch on similar lines. A foreman of works is stationed in Greymouth for the supervision of school buildings on the West Coast. The Board has repeatedly drawn the Department's attention to the need of an adequate grant being made to put the schools on the West Coast, more particularly those in the Grey District, in good order. Although the actual expenditure on rebuilding during the year was small, a substantial amount has been set apart for the renewal of portions of several schools which are very old and out-of-date. Grants have been made by the Department for new schools at Laghmor, Sherwood Downs, and Paroa, which will be commenced as soon as practicable. School-sites have been secured at Parnassus, Tormore, and Diamond Harbour, and additional land has been purchased at Elmwood, Fendalton, Hook, and Sumner. New technical schools were erected at Goraldine and Oxford East, and an addition was also made to the Kaiapoi Technical School. Finance. —As this is the first report of the proceedings of the Canterbur)' Education Board, it is only right that reference should be made to the financial position as obtaining on the Ist August, the date on which the Board came into existence. After taking into consideration assets and liabilities, the General Accounts of the several old Boards showed the following credit balances: North Canterbury, £1,465 Is.; South Canterbury, £3,134 6s. lOd.; Westland, £140 lis. 7d. : total, £4,739 19s. sd. This apparent credit balance, however, was more than absorbed by deficits which could only be made good out the Ordinary Account, as follows. North Canterbury—Sites, £1,808 15s.' 6d. ; relieving teachers, £669 2s.' 2d. : total, £2,477 17s. Bd. South Canterbury—Sites, £646 14s. id. Grey —General Account, £848 6s. lid.; relieving teachers, £71 ss. 5d.; teachers' salaries, £365 16s. 5d.; Committees' incidentals, £175 2s. lOd. : total, £1,460 lis. 7d. Westland —Relieving teachers, £50 IBs. lid.; teachers' salaries, £196 6s. lid. : total, £247 2s. lOd. : grand total, £4,832 6s. sd. : leaving a deficit of £92 7s. It will thus be seen that on coming into existence the Canterbury Education Board not only had no funds with which to carry on its general administration, but was actually faced by a deficit. The matter has been placed before the Department, and an application made for an advance at least sufficient to cover the old Boards' deficits on Sites Account. The Board regrets that so far the Minister has not seen his way to accede to the request, except to make an additional grant of £400 towards the cost of enlarging the Elmwood school-site. The Board wishes to place on record the very unsatisfactory position disclosed, and to ask that as a matter of urgency its reasonable request may be granted without delay, The total expenditure on buildings for the year 1916 was £19,609 4s. 2d., as follows :—

Conveyance and Board of Children. —The expenditure on account of the conveyance of children to school and for the board of children living a long distance from a school was £2,969 lis. 4d. The number of children conveyed to school was 651, in addition to fifty children conveyed to manual-training centres. Boarding-allowance during the year was paid in respect of seventy-six children. Maintenance.— -The total expenditure on primary salaries for the year 1916. including £3,369 2s. lid. for house allowance, £703 lis. 4d. for relieving teachers, and £9,148 18s. 7d. war bonuses, was £166,651 3s. The salaries paid to teachers in secondary departments amounted to £6,532 10s. Id. The following table shows the expenditure on salaries and incidentals for the year mentioned :—

XIII

Maintenance. Rebuilding. | New Buildings. Total. For period 1st January to 31st July : North Canterbury South Canterbury.. Orov Westland £ s. ( 3.996 6 2,354 3 244 10 995 12 il. 9 2 7 7 £ s. il. £ s. il. 3.544 7 4 669 8 6 i 764 3 8 I .403 I 7 116 5 6 : 300 18 0 £ s. d. 7,540 14 I 3.787 15 4 1,647 12 2 1.442 16 1 For period 1 st August to 31 st December :—! Canterbury .. .. Rebuilding schools destroyed by fire 3,749 19 5 I .255 19 4 14,418 17 8 5.005 18 184 7 9 9 Total for year . . . . 19.609 4 2 • I * i

Year. Salaries. Incidental Expenses. Totals- »« T0 ? 8e Attendance. 1880 1890 1900 1910 1916 £ s. d. 55,318 1.7 8 73,129 I I 70,978 18 7 110,388 16 3 166.651 3 0 £ s. d. 8.07.1. 1.2 2 8,187 18 0 8,064 13 10 6,359 5 1.1 11,074 16 4 £ s. d. 63,390 9 10 1.6,412 81,316 19 1 23,728 79,04-3 12 5 23,806 1.16.748 2 2 25,587 167,873 9 5 29,728 _ School-sites. —The 'xpenditure on scboo! [-sites during ifie y< ar 1916 was £778 lis. _i.