THE EDUCATION GRANT.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2745, 25 February 1910, Page 3

THE EDUCATION GRANT.

PROTEST (AGAINST REDUCTION. [Pku Pukss Association. | i WELLINGTON, Fob. 24. A deputation from the Wellington Education Board waited on the Minister for Education (Hon. G. Fowkls) to complain of tillc. reduction of the grant made ,by the Department to boards in its appropriation of the public fund for education during the current year. Mr. R. Leo (Ohairman of the Board) was principal spokesman. Mr. Leo said that the deputation came to discuss a. very important question, how far the Board could carry on. The Board's grant had been reduced by £2OOO. In this connection the Board had good reason to believe that its grant for 1909 would be the some as in 190 S. The grant in 1908 amounted to £5501, and this' vear to £BIOO only. In tlio past the grant had been computed bn the value l of the school buildings. The value of the school buildings had been increased from vear to year, and it would be interesting to know why, with increased , value of buildings, there liad been a reduction jn the grant. The. Minister, in reply, said it anneared to him there had been a goocT'Oeal of misunderstanding, which it would bo well to remove. It had been slated that the maintenance vote had been reduced. This was not sen The Department had as many schools to look after as anybody in New Zealand. He instanced the case of the Native schools. These were in isolated districts, and he would say that the average of the Native schools was greater than those under the control of any board in the North Island, and yet the Education Boards bad- been allocated more Ilian 80 per cent, above. ■ the amount required for the maintenance of schools under the control of the Department. He repeated that the Government had made no reduction in the maintenance vote. Very few of the boards bad spent ranch more than half the monev that had been paid to them for rebuilding. The average for the whole of the Dominion was only 59 per cent. Ho did not bind .himself to the fact, that the Wellington Board had more nearly expended its maintenance vote than any other board in the Dominion. So far as the vote for education was concerned the Department was not responsible for it. It. was for the Government as a whole. The natur. al increase for the vote this vear was £103,000, and with a stationary revenue it was clear the- position had to be considered. Considering that only 59 per cent, of the re-building vote had been spent throughout the country if surely showed, that no great harm would com r by reducing the vote for ibis year. In one ease a sum was voted for the rebuilding of schools destroyed bv fire, and if this was not wholly spent there might be a surplus for distribution, and it was. possible that the Department might hoi able to do a little more to bring the maintenance vote u- to the. standard laid l down in 1903. The i-o----building vote could not he increased. Next- year he hoped the revenue would bn up to its natural level. He could not nnv out money that bad not lmm voted by Parliament.