work was completed later in the fall. In November 1988, the burner mechanism was first fired up and it continued in use until April 1989. During this period numerous problems and difficulties had to be overcome. As a result the burner was out-of-order for frequent peri¬ ods of time. Some of these problems were inexperienced operators and service men, excessive sawdust in the fuel mixture, presence of twigs, large chunks of wood and snow/ice in the fuel, and some of the equipment had to be replaced. However, during the second year of its operation from November 1989, to early May 1990, the plant functioned relatively free of any problems or difficulties. Most of the obstacles had been overcome; thus, resulting in a smooth and efficient operation which continues to be the case. Community Hospital is billed for the amount of heat supplied. The plant continues to be the property of the Department of Energy. It is expected that it will be turned over to the Unit I School Board at some point in time. Other plants built at the same time in the area are located at Westisle, Hernewood, and Callaghan Schools as well as the Western Hospital, Alberton . Larger Units of Administration and Consolidation of Schools - an inevitable process Originally Prince with an area of 2184 square miles had about 9400 farms and 469 school districts or an average of one school district for every twenty small farms. The average area of a school district was 4.6 square miles and the distance between rural schools was about two or three miles apart. Within a radius of 1.5 miles from the intersection of cross roads there were in several places as many as four schools. The local school boards of these districts, as they were called, had a maximum of autonomy. They levied and col¬ lected school taxes and were responsible for the maintenance and operation of the school. Often the secretary of the board in each dis¬ trict was a very influential figure in the education process of that community. Attempts toward the reduction of the number of school districts by the consolidation of schools and by the formation of larger units of administration were greatly fostered in P.E.I , between the years 1908 - 1960 as may be seen by numerous educational surveys. Complete consolidation of districts did not occur until 1971 and on July 1, 1972, all consolidated districts were formed into five large regional administrative units across the province. The 97