HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2009-02-12, Page 7THE EDITOR,As you can imagine, I closelyfollowed the comments in last
week's Citizen in regards to the
accommodation review.
Maybe, I am out in left field here,
but my priority all along has been
the kids. Specifically in this case the
elementary school children, all of
them, from kindergarten to Grade
8.
I have three young children
myself, and I for one want the best
possible and safest education for
them. I don't want them to have to
settle for anything less than the best,
especially because of where they
live, or how much money I have.
As demonstrated by the world
wide economic crisis, we live in a
world economy. As years pass, the
children of today will be competing
for jobs and careers against today’s
children from all over the globe.
My hope is that I am able to
provide the absolute best possible
educational opportunity to my
children without disrupting their
lives by moving, or placing
unreasonable social pressures upon
them. This is so that they can be
leaders not only in their local
communities, but around the world.Now this hope has to face some oftoday's realities. Whether it be fiscal
or logistical, there are some
challenges. That being said, one
should never be afraid of dreaming
big.
Hence the reason the idea of the
North Maitland Educational Centre
of Excellence was developed. It
answers the concerns that the board
of education has due to declining
enrollment in smaller aging schools.
I believe it also answers the issue
of a underutilized high school
facility by increasing enrollment
down the road due to increased
enrollment at a world class
elementary educational facility
today.
And keeping with the fact my
number one priority is the children,
the North Maitland facility clearly
focuses on them.
It protects our children's
innocence by keeping them with
fellow classmates of their same age
groups that have the same ideals. In
other words it doesn't put 11 and 12-
year-olds in with 18 or 19-year-olds.
It also provides our children with a
world class educational experience
in a state-of-the-art school. A schoolwith bright open classrooms, aschool with up-to-date science and
computer labs, a school with music
and arts programs, a school with
modern athletic facilities to promote
a healthy lifestyle, a school with an
environmental focus, a school with
so much more!
To me, it is truly a win-win-win
scenario.
It is a win for the board ofeducation, because it addresses theunder capacity issue in both the high
school and the elementary schools.
It is a win for our communities, as
it addresses the needs and wishes of
the local citizens, as they have
access to a top quality educational
facility. It will attract people to our
local area who want to gain the
benefit of having their children
taught in a facility such as the NorthMaitland Educational Centre ofExcellence.
Lastly and most importantly, the
biggest win comes to the kids. They
receive an opportunity to learn that
will last them a lifetime and will
allow them to achieve their dreams
no matter how big.
Sincerely,
Mark Beaven.
THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2009. PAGE 7.Letter to the editorBest and safest education key in decision
Huron East treasurer Brad Knight
presented council with the first draft
of the 2009 budget at the Feb. 3
meeting with a little trimming left to
do.
Knight said, he wanted to
concentrate on capital projects and
the municipality’s general tax levy,
leaving user pay and area-rated
systems until later drafts of the
budget. This includes streetlights
and waste management, which are
area-rated and water and the user-
pay sewer charges.
There were also several factors
that needed to still be finalized, like
the Huron County tax levy and exact
figures for the funding Huron East
will be receiving from the federal
and provincial levels.
There are several bridge projects
and equipment needs that Knight
calls “worthwhile projects” that
council needs to evaluate as well.
With all of these factors taken into
account, Knight opted not to present
a balanced budget for the first draft.
Several projects have been injected
into the budget, leaving the
treasurer’s bottom line currently
sitting at more than $1.2 million
over budget.
Knight says council will have to
make some hard decisions in the
weeks to come in finalizing a tax
rate increase and discussing which
projects need to be done and which
projects can wait.
“Everybody feels that the need is
there and it’s going to be there for a
few years to come,” Knight said.
“It’s going to have to be quite the
balancing act with a lot of projects
needing attention this year.”
Last year, Huron East allocated
the gas tax funding it received from
the federal government to the bridge
reserve, which eventually went
towards three projects. This year,
Knight’s suggested projects carry an
estimated price tag of $474,000, just
under $160,000 less than the
$314,534 which is expected in gas
tax funding in 2009.
In addition to the bridge work
proposed for 2009, Knight also
proposed the paving of a potential
six blocks of roads throughout the
municipality. Knight suggested two
stretches of Beechwood Line, which
is currently sitting at 15 years old,
and segments of Summerhill Road,
which is currently sitting at 14 years
old.
One other point of concern is the
municipality’s aging vehicle fleet,
both in the public works department
and in Huron East’s three fire
departments.
In Knight’s first draft, $200,000 is
allocated to a proposed new fire
tanker (voted by Huron East fire
chiefs to be Seaforth’s 33-year-old
tanker) and just over $415,000 is
marked for public works department
equipment.
Knight is also planning a $414,000
transfer from reserves for the
Brussels Library project this year.
Knight also listed several points
that were not included in the budget
for discussion. These include an
annual reserve contribution toward
the Vanastra Recreation Centre, an
improvement in rural grass-cutting
services, the possibility of Huron
East entrance signs and different
points on the municipality’s building
needs study.
Huron East council
sees first budget draft
Continued frompage 1
through the process and have
listened to their proposals with very
open ears.
“We’ve done a lot with this, but we
didn’t want to overwhelm them, but
the trustees have noticed that our
group has gone further,” Toll said.
Newsletters are being sent out, e-
mail lists are available and
comment/suggestion boxes will be
featured at upcoming ARC meetings
for more information and the
possibility of anonymous input.
The remaining meetings are on
Feb. 12 at East Wawanosh, Feb. 26 at
Turnberry Central, then the final
meeting on March 12, at a location
that has yet to be determined.
After the final proposal, the board
will bring the suggestion to the
trustees in April, who will make the
final decision in June.
A realistic proposal for the
construction of a new “super school”
would be over the next two or three
years, Toll said.
If the proposal were to go ahead,
results would begin to be
implemented in 2010, while
construction would probably begin
in 2011 and the school would
hopefully be ready for the beginning
of the 2012 school year.
Currently, there are no proposed
locations for the “super school.” Toll
says the decision, ultimately, is not
their’s to make.
“To keep unity throughout the sub-
committee, we haven’t proposed any
locations, and we won’t be
suggesting any,” she said.
“Ultimately, it’s the board’s decision
to make anyway. It’s really out of our
hands.”
Toll said trustees are listening
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
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