Wednesday, May 17, 1967 ular, to have a committee select the six most deserving Island students for these scholarships. And these scholarships, Mr. Speaker , are on a continuing basis so that a student who, maintains the proper academic standing can obtain $1,600.00 for Us or her University education for each of four years. In effect it means that six Island students, when they qualify for these scholarships, will have their University educa¬ tion paid right through to their Bachelor Degree, and we are very happy to be able to support and introduce this program. L. George Dewar : Freshman students? Honourable Gordon L. Bennett : Tea. Now, Mr. Speaker , we on this side of the House, and I believe all members of the House have come to realize the necessity and the importance of higher'ectocationv also recognize the need to provide an adequate amount of funds so that all the young people of this province who are qualified and who are desirous of having higher education may avail themselves of the opportunities that are being offered. Now my last topic — number three, and one that plays a large part in in¬ creasing our educational budget are the increased coats of school consolidation. We have been criticized a bit, Mr. Speaker , for deciding as a Department and as a Gov ¬ ernment to take a good hard look at our program of consolidation before proceeding too rapidly and too far with it. I make no apologies for doing this. I recognise, and I hope the members of this House will recognise before I am through, that there are many hard-earned dollars of the taxpayers of this province involved in this program of school consolidation. I noted with interest the quotation of the member from Fifth Kings yesterday when he said that my predecessor in office, and I give him credit for doing a great many fine things in education during his seven years as head of that Department, my predecessor in office had solved all the problems relating to consolidation of schools in this province. Now there is one big problem relating to school consolidation that my good friend the honourable member from Second Prince hadn't completely solved and that is paying for them. And I would Mke to again to take a few minutes, Mr. Speaker , to try to visualize for members of this Assembly just how much these consolidated schools are costing. I am not condemning the pro¬ ject when I say this, Mr. Speaker . I feel that we must have a change in our system of rural schools. The day of the small one-roomed schoolhouse is almost past. We recognise the difficulty of recruiting teachers and so on for these schools. I would like to cite the coats for a typical school. I am not referring to any Krticular district. Take a twenty-room consolidated school. I hope that all mem- rs, especially the members on this side of the House, are listening to these figures. I understand that at present a twenty-room school costs about $700,000.00. Now the manner in which this is financed is pretty well known to moat members of the House. It is amortized over a period of twenty years. I have worked out the figures so the annual amortisation payment, the capital costs $66,000.00 and the government gives a grant towards these schools so the government equity is $86,400.00. So that the district equity is $89,600.00. Now I want you to keep a few of these figures in mind. This is the district equity — $89,600.00 for the capital cost Now we have to pur¬ chase busses to transport the pupils. Ten of these for this school, a twenty-room school, 600 students; roughly $88,000.00. The government pays a grant of 90% on the cost of the busses which comes to $49,800.00, so it leave $82,200.00 for the dis¬ trict, and this amortized again only over a five-year period because of the limited life of the bus so that per year costs of the bus to the district is $8,062.00. The annual district payment for the year is thus $47,662.00. Now we haven't begun to operate the schools. We get into teachers' salaries — twenty teachers — $80,000.00 in salaries of which the government pays $60,000.00 and the district pays $20,000.00. So again the district finds $20,000.00, for salaries. Then we go to the maintenance, supplies and administration and all this sort of thing . . . $42,000.00. The operation of the busses, the bus drivers who are looking for more money, the maintenance of the busses and so on, $88,000.00. Again the government picks up a tab of $60,- 000.00, the balance paid by the district $18,200.00. Now to put it in capsule form, the annual district operating costs is $76,000.00. No, I am sorry; the total district costs annually, operating end capital, is $122362.00 for twenty years, with escalating costs. This is the cost to a district, a consolidated district putting up a school at the present time: $122382.00. Now how much can that district raise in taxes? Let's say the valuation of the district is a million dollars and this is high according to —487—