HIGH SCHOOL BOARD.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2407, 23 January 1909, Page 6

HIGH SCHOOL BOARD.

AN UNEXPECTED DIFFICULTY. AfFETING OF GOVERNORS. A mooting of the Board of Cover;, iiors of the High 'School was held yesterday afternoon in Air. C. A. do' am tour’s office. . Present: Messrs C. A. doLautou-r (chairman), John Coleman. A F. Matthews-, Robt. Johnston, J. AY. Bright, and AY. Morga-u (secretary). A letter avas received from the Gisborne .School Committee regarding the conference which had been pro posed in reference to the establishment of a sop'irate secondary school. The Chairman explained that a .subcommittee of the Board had been set up to confer wit'll the Gnsbonie School Committee, and a notification had been sent to that effect. No reply had been received, and t!he secretary had seen the chairman of the School Committee on the matter. -A couple of days previously, however, the letter which had just been read had been received from the School 'Committee, alleging that the whole mat ter was being considered by the Edu cation Board". It was a pi ty that the Commitee had not met, as hid the,done so and stated that they did uoi wish to put any impediment in theway of the .Board, it would have simplified matters a great deal. The chairman of the school committee hue not seen -fit to convene liis committee, and taking the responsibility on him self Was thus multiplying the difficufi ties of the .Board.

the new high school

ACTION OF THE EDUCATION BOARD...

The following letter was received from the secretary of ibe Hawke’s. Bay Ediicfition 'Board (Air. G. Craw shaw) : “Mv Board view with some appro heusion the proposal of your Governors to establish a separate secondary school iu the on [filing erected lor tlu. purpose of technical education on the Board’s premises -in Gisborne. Aly Board do not think it at all deniable that two distinct schools under separate management should be ear ried on in. such close proximity to ore mother. Both schools would have to use the same playground, and my Board think that this circumstance might not improbably be a cause ol constant friction between the _ two controlling bodies. Aly Board wish it to bo distinctly understood that of the playground, at any rate, they intend to retain sole and absolute control. The technical school building is, in law, the property of niv Board, hut we admit that wo bold it upon trust to. permit it to he used Jor purposes oi technical instruction and District High School work. At the same time we are under no obligation to allow a separate secondary school to be established and carried on therein. AVe recognise that wo cannot interfere with the Governors so long as they continue to use- the building for the purposes for ■which it was erected, but we contend that their use is strictly limited to those purposes. If wegrant permission to the. Governors to open their new .school in this building they must not infer that ihe 'inifiling is theirs to do as the" like with, or that they are at liberty to carry on the-school therein lor all time. AVe regard the arrangement as a temporary one only,, and wo hold that any such nornii.ss.ion may at any time be revoked. AA r e have explained ourselves decidedly so that there may he _no chance of mistaking our. meaning, hut at. tluu same time we are fully conscious of the services which the Governors have rendered to secondary and technical education, and we have no desire to -deal with them inequitably or to. insist upon our legal rights to their detriment or to the detriment of the institution, the success of which, they have at heart. AVe are anxious for the well-being both of their school and of our "own, and it is for this reason that wo are loth to acquiesce in the contemplated • arrangement-.”

The Chairman said that the views taken by the Education Hoard outlie matter, had 'been at a smsnll meeting held during the holidays, and must .certainly have 'been .influenced by outside' rep resell# vtions from CHsfeoruo. During the months which bad passed they had not the slightest hint that the ...Education Board would disapprove of their action, and now a then their staff (had been, obtained and all arrangements had been made nt the last moment the Education .Board stepped in and practically said “You cannot open your school unless you

admit certain' rights of the Board.’ Knowing the chairman of the Educr. fcion Board as iho had for many years, no such announcement as between two • ■ public • bodies' had so startled, him for years as this attitude of the Education Board. Al)' recognised methods of dealing, as between public bodies, had boon disregarded, and the claim of the Board now set up would, if claimed between private persons, be an open breach of the laws, of morality. How. any public body could have been so blinded as to act in such a manner lie utterly failed to understand.

He suggested that.the following reply should 'ho sent to the Board :

“The-Governors do-not consider the apprehension- of difficulty expressed hv your Board to be well founded. When the -Technical- School r was built, in admitting the District High School pupils to the upper floor, the Governors did not consider they were sanctioning the use of the room permanently for secondary education. So soon as the* upper room was required for technical purposes -it would have been necessary to find other aceonunodaation for the District High School- scholars. The room is not yet required for technical instruction. The children, although High School pupils, 'andnot District High scholars will', be the same children and drawn from the samo sources.

A site for u High (School is now being arranged. .The Governors have acquired a right'of occupation through the courtesy of the tenant. The assent of the Legislature will be required before the reserve can he debit with for High School buildings. In the view which my Board takes of the position no. question of property can. arise 'as to -the/ Technical ■School buildings and equipment between the two Bounds. Both Boards are public bodies exercising distinct and * complementary administrative duties for the Crown.Questions of apparent overlapping control in regard to technical’. .and manual instruction may arise. Considering the harmonious relations oi the Education Bourd and the Beard rtf Governors for more than twenty years, such questions os they <M ise should be easily adjusted in the heist interests of the -public. If the Education Board cons'ders it to be necessary to now define the relative positions* of the two Boards as regards the 'Technical School building, its future control,. and the future conduct and expense of technical instruction, in the northern portion or the Education District, my Board,, while not agreeing with the necessity, will raise no objection. . The qucKtiiou of claim emphatically raised by your memorandum to 'property in ‘buildings, for 'which the Education Board neither wrought nor paid and in the expenditure upon which by my Board you were good enough to acquiesce cannot be profitably settled' by mere assertion of right hv one Board and an equally emphatic denial of right by qpr other. The proper course would be to ask the Minister to have the relative positions defined having regard to past expenditure and the consequent equalisation of sacrifice (if any) found to be equitable. My Board regrets that the Educbtion’ Board, in making so un-precc-dented a claim upon another public body, came "to a dec iso n without notice or conference, and that it should have delayed the claim until! the very eve of the opening of the High School although, the intentions of the Governors have been before the Education Board for many months without the least expression of dissent.”

Air Bright said that the letter clearly outlined the position, and the stand the Governors should take in the matter. It (appeared to him that all the fuss which was being made was a storm in a tea-cup, and what the Governors were doing was not in any way adverse to the interests of higher education in Poverty Bay. The Governors blit ul intimated, to the Education 'Board that- tlio <uso of tte premises would be only temporary, and a site for a now building was now being arranged for. Both the Education Board, the School Com - inittee, and the public generally should do all in their power to assist the Board of Governors in their object. The letter from the Education Bourd was evidently the' result of misrepresentation, and had been v l-it-ten under an erroneous idea of what tin l public of this district wanted. He thought that the Education Board had acted rashly, and tliat when the true position was put before a full meeting they would see the position in a different' light. He moved tlifit the letter as drafted by the, chairman be sent iu reply to the Education Board. Air. Robert Johnston seconded the motion, and said tliat lie bad met the chairman of the .School Committee, who assured him that lie was iu perfect accord with the intentions oftlie Governors, and would assist them in any way possible. Other members of the School Committee spoken to by him seemed to htive no objection to the new ■arrangement. Mr. Matthews said that the position appeared to be that- tliey would only go into the building on .sufferance, and no other build mg was available. The Chairman said that if tlio Educi.ition. Board adhered to their present position it would mean a complete block for at least a year do secondary education in the district. He Thought that they might have reasonably expected that the interests, of the district would have been watched at the meeting of the Education Board by the district’s representative. Mr. Morgan had been .unable to attend the meeting, which bad been held in the holidays—a most unheard of thing—and at which only five members were present. It was ultimately decided that the reply as drafted by tlio chairman ho forwarded to the Education Board.

CHURCH SERVICES. Wesley Church. —To-morrow tAloniing,. 1.1, Air. Grubb,,, subject, “’Salvation” ; evening, 7, Rev. C. Griffin ; subject,“Alan’s Thoughts versus God’s Thoughts” ; Young People’s Bible Glass, 2.45, subject, “Abraham”; Waihii’ka, 11, Rev. C. Griffin; Ormond, 3, Rev. C. Griffin. All cordially invited to these services. St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church. —To-morrow, 11, a.in., Rev. E. AY. Walker; 7 p.m., Rev. E. AY. Walker; 2.30 D.m., Sunday School/2.30 p.m., A'oiing Men’s Bible Class ’(Whin ray’s Hall): Endeavor Society, every alternate Tuesday ,at 7.30 p.m. ; Choir Practice,, Friday, at 7.30 p.m. Air. Grant and his office-bearers extend a hearty invitation to visitors and; recent arrivals to any of these services. Baptist Tabernacle.—. Preacher, Rev AY. Lamb. Morning. 11, “The First Element in Christianity”; evening, 7, “Religion and Health of Christianity and the Conflict with Disease” ; at 0.50 p.m. the orchestra will play “Scipio” (Handel), violin solo, Air. Al. Cuthhert, -anthem, “Crossing the Bar.” A hearty welcome to all.