Planning at the Local Level: The Auckland Education Board

Rapidly increasing school enrolments present a major problem in forward planning in many parts of the world. One aspect of this problem is the provision of buildings and classrooms. This paper describes the procedures adopted for the siting, planning and erection of school buildings by the Auckland Education Board, a local education authority responsible for 100,000 primary children. The board employs a full‐time planning and research officer whose chief duty is predicting enrolment trends from national census returns, figures on population mobility, immigration and birthrate and other sources. School sites are selected and purchased to provide for long‐term needs. Buildings are erected under a national “white‐lines” policy, adapted from English practice. This policy, which is designed to give local authorities scope for initiative and imagination in planning, lays down minimum standards for buildings and establishes maximum costs for schools of various sizes. There is some danger in standardization of this type, but regular discussions on design are held with teachers and other professional people associated with schools.