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to the vacant place on the Buildings Committee. The Board held twenty-seven meetings during the year, six of which were special meetings. The Buildings Committee met twenty-three times, and the Appointments Committee twenty two times. Buildings.—During the year 1894 new school districts were formed at West Lyttelton, Bushside, Hornby, Lowcliffe, Graham's Eoad, and Woodstock, and sites were acquired for schools in the four last-named districts, and also for three schools at Cheviot, which were authorised just before the close of the year A new school was built at Lowcliffe but some difficulties about the sites delayed proceedings at Hornby and Woodstock, tenders for which were not accepted till the sth December. At the date of this report these schools and the school at Graham's Boad have been completed; and the schools at Cheviot, with a new infant school at Woolston, authorised on the 15th November, are in progress. A schoolroom was also built at Porter's Pass, and additions made at Waltham and Methven. Teachers' houses were built at Eiffelton and Botherham, and additions made to the houses at Christchurch West, Greendale, Harewood Boad, Heathcote Valley, Hinds, and Kirwee, and considerable repairs or improvements to the schools at Ashburton, Brookside, Christchurch West, Fernside, Greenpark, Lakeside, Bangiora, Tai Tapu, Teddington, and Woolston. The money granted for buildings has been spent with great care, and with due regard to the most pressing wants of the various school districts. But there were many school buildings and teachers' residences required which the Board could not undertake, owing to the want of the necessary funds , and therefore the Board wishes to bring under the notice of the Government the absolute necessity of an increased grant for the current year. The total expenditure on buildings was £5,196 19s. 9d., and the liabilities at the end of the year amounted to £3,322. Maintenance. —The expenditure on teachers' salaries and allowances during the year 1894 amounted to £56,346 11s. 6d., and the grants to School Committees, with other incidental expenses, to £6,958 Is. 2d., making a total of £63,304 12s. Bd. The working average for the year was 17,680, but the average of the four quarters, beginning with the December quarter of 1893, on which payments were actually made, was 17,578. The cost per head of teachers' salaries was therefore £3 4s. ljd., and the cost of maintaining the schools, including incidental expenses, was £3 125., per head. The following table gives the amounts spent in salaries and incidentals for each year from 1878 [not all reprinted]:— Year. Salaries. Incidentals. Totals. £ s. a. £ b. a. s a. a. 1878 . 31,919 0 0 6,276 6 9 38,195 6 9 1888 .. 50,749 14 6 6,400 7 5 57,150 6 3 1893 56,291 15 9 6,871 14 10 63,164 10 7 1894 56,346 11 6 6,958 1 2 63,304 12 8 The total number of teachers in the Board's service at the end of 1894 (besides 43 sewingmistresses) was 548. Of these, 208 (150 males and 58 females) were heads of schools or departments, or in sole charge , 159 (36 males and 123 females) were assistants , and 181 (49 males and 132 females) were pupil-ceachers. Attendance. —The number of school districts at the end of the year 1894 was 166, and the number of separate schools was 182. Of the latter, six—viz., Clarence Bridge, Gough's Bay, McKenzie, Montserrat, Porter's Pass, and Spotswood—were aided schools, those at McKenzie and Spotswood having been opened in anticipation of the schools about to be established. The aided school at Godley Head was closed during the year, and the former aided school at Lowcliffe was changed into a district school. The schools were classified as follows Under 15 pupils, eleven , 15 and under 20 pupils, nineteen , 20 and under 25 pupils, sixteen 25 and under 50 pupils, sixty, 50 and under 75 pupils, twenty ,75 and under 100 pupils, fifteen 100 and under 150 pupils, fifteen, 150 and under 300 pupils, twelve, 300 and under 500 pupils, nine, 500 pupils and upwards, five. Beturns of the numbers and ages of the children, and of the number receiving instruction in each subject, are appended. The following table gives the number of schools, of children on the rolls, the number in average attendance, and the percentage of attendance at the close of each year since the Education Act came into force [not all reprinted]:— Quarter ended District Aided Total r> R n Average -□ , 31st December, Schools. Schools, of Schools. Un nou - Attendance. eroenta - e g--1878 106 4 110 13,647 10,076 73-83 1888 155 1 156 20,388 16,395 80-42 1893 175 4 179 21,229 17315 81-51 1894 .. 176 6 182 21,314 17,950 84-21 Bbgulations.—During the year the Board's regulations as to the staff of teachers to be allowed in the various classes of schools, and the salaries payable, which have been in force since 1888, underwent revision. In consequence of changes that have since taken place, the scale then adopted had become rather too expensive, so that nearly all the capitation allowance was absorbed in the cost of maintaining the schools, leaving an insufficient amount for inspection, general administration, and other items of the Board's ordinary expenditure. It was also found that too many pupil-teachers were employed, with the result that the supply of teachers was exceeding the demand, and an annually-increasing number were unable to find engagements. The Board set up a committee to consider how these defects might be remedied. The committee went exhaustively into the whole question, and on the 31st May presented a report recommending a new scale of staff and salaries, which, with one or two amendments, was adopted. On the 24th July the work was completed by the adoption of a scale for the four large city schools, which had not been included in the committee's report. Its principal features are a large reduction in the number of pupil-teachers, the employment of assistant mistresses instead of pupil-teachers in schools with an average of from 36