HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1980-05-14, Page 3THREE PHASE
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BARRY BUCHANAN
482-7374
GLENN McLEAN
887-9264
P.O. BOX 1138 CLINTON, ONT,
41-
WEEKLY SALE
BRUSSELS STOCKYARDS LTD.
EVERY FRIDAY
At 12 Noon
Phone 887-6461 Brusselo, Ont.
H' & N DAIRY SYSTEMS LTD.
Sales, Service 8 Installation of
Irri pipelines &
Via milking parlours
887-6063
R.R.4
WALTON
MAITLAND VALLEY
Insurance Agency Ltd.
Auto - Fire Casualty life
BRUSSELS
887-6663
MONKTON
Murray Siddall 347-2241
41111111111110.111111111IN
B us system
in tegrated
THE plows pow MAY 14, MO.—,
WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT?—Villagers Jamieson caught on fire Thursday night causing
gathered around a house owned by Mrs. Elsie ' $6,000 damage.
Evans when an apartment occupied by. David (Photo by Ranney)
BY DAVE SYKES
The taxpayers of Huron
County will face a 14.65 per
cent increase in public school
education taxes this year.
The Huron County Board
of• Education approved its
1980 budget at a special
meeting Thursday, en-
dorsing expenditures of $25,
452,768. That represents an
increase of 7.9 per cent over
the $23,583,350 spent by the
board in 1979.
Much of the almost $2
million increase is blamed on
inflation and declining enrol-
ment which subsequently re-
sulted in less provincial
grants.
The biggest portion of the
budget goes to teaching in-
struction ,wliere the, board
has set aside $18,637,191 an
increase of 8.1 per /cent over
the 1.979 allocation.
The budget tendered
lengthy debate and much of
it centered on the provision
cutting the boafd members
honorariumS by $600 to
$3,000 a year. Trustee, Dave
Gower, suggested the move
was necessary in reducing
costs,
"We shouldn't get
emotional about the cuts but
we better start looking at
long term ramifications," he
said. "We haven't done any
long range planning and
'political aspirations aside the
board has to look at school
closings to reduce the budget
The honorariums is just one
step in cutting back."
Trustee. John Elliott
argued that board members
spend a good deal of time
away from their jobs and
added that he attended over
100 meetings a year as
chairman of the board.
"Now the budget
committee says we are not
worth the money and I think
they are over reacting," he
said. "You've skrimped and
embarassed the trustees and
at the same time reduced
supplies anclservices that
hurt the students.
Elliott was concerned
about .a 14.5 per cent re-
duction,in the education ser-
vices and supplies budget.
He maintained that cuts in
that area would only cripple
the education system:
"We stress impact to the
taxpayer and not the
student," he claimed.
John Henderson refuted
Elliott's arguments about the
FH.,noriarium decreased
claiming the board has to set
examples.
"If we aren't willing to
take a cut then how can we
talk about decreasing the
budget," he said. "If you
can't accept that well, it's
.your decision."
Elliott said his complaint
was that the board nickeled
and dimed the budget and
services while greater
savings could be realized
with co-operative busing.
Henderson explained that
there is the same amount of
money allotted to each
student in services but
declining enrolment has
forced the budgeted figure
downward.
Herb Turkheim claimed a
cut in trustee pay was bad
move and suggested that
trustees who only attend a
few meetings could donate
some of their money. He
later added that trustees
perhaps, should have $50 or
$100 taken from their pay
for missed meetings.
Elliott said the reduction in
honorariums was not,
important but that the
principle was.,
"I am prepared for the
reduction and further re-
ductions yr the money is used
in supplies and services," he
said. "Give the money back
to the students."
Elliott claimed that most
municipal employees in the
county have received
increases this year and
insisted the board's cut in
pay was .a move just to suit
the taxpayer.
Gower charged that board
of education trustees don't
do near the work of
municipal councillors.
"There is no comparison
between this job and
municipal one," Gower said.
"We do not earn the $3,600
and I would like the secretary
The Huron County Board
of Education received .the
vandalism report at its May 5
meeting for the first three
months of 1980 and statistics
show that the number of
incidents and damage done
is about half as bad as it was
this 'time last year.
This year, there ,have been
BY CATEI WOODEN
The Huron. County Board
of Education got one step
closer to its goal of control,
ling the entire busing system
for all Huron County schools
at its May 5 regular meeting.
Transportation Manager
R.L. Cunningham and the
Management Committee's
proposal for the integration
of busing arrangements for
Hullett Township students
attending the Central Huron
Secondary School, the Clin-
ton and District Christian
School and the •Hullett
Central Public School was
accepted by the board.
• Students will all be bussed
into Londesboro where Hut-
lett Central is located and
those that have to go to
Clinton schools will be
express bussed there. This
will make it possible to
eliminate one bus and save
$5,000 ,a year. Hullett now
joins Usborne Township,
Ashfield Township and the
Seaforth area in the integrat-
ed bus system.
In the same recommend-
ation to the board the
committee stated that the
board should drop the idea of
combined bussing for Stan-
ley Township. (The students
to prepare numbers(,,on -the
number of meetings trustees
'attend)."
Elliott made an ammende-
ment to the motion calling for
an additional $200,000 to be
placed in .the budget to be
used for supplies and
services or if not needed, to
be placed in a reserve fund.
Earlier in the meeting R.B.
Dunlop pointed out that the
reserve account was in bad
shape. He indicated that if all
the county teach rs retired
the board would owe over $2
million in gratuities and
benefits.
He said that the board
usually knows a year in
advance in a teacher is
retiring and the gratuities
are included in the following
year's budget under
benefits. A teacher is
entitled to ,a pension after 12
,years service.
72 incidents costing the
board $2525.48 while last
Year $4418 was spent un-
doing the damage of 148 acts
of vandalism to Huron
County schools.
The elementary schools
have accounted for 23 of the
incidents causing $1742.86
involved attend high school
in Clinton and Huron Cen-
tennial Public School at
Brucewent
fleici.) over every
route and no matter what we
do, we won't save a mile,"
said trustee R.K. Peck. He
explained that the Bayfield
River makes it a more
difficult township than Hul-
lett.
Trustee John Elliott said
he could not accept that part
of the recommendation and
stated that "if it works in
Hullett, why not Stanley?
Why not bus them all to
Huron Centennial and then
bus the high school students
on to Clinton?"
As a result, the board
suggested that the commit-
tee look into, the matter
again.
Another section of the
recommendation also came
under the board's questions,
but was grudgingly passed.
It stated that "the present
arrangement „whereby the
!Clinton and District Christian
School' settles its financial
responsibilities for such
transportation directly with'
' the bus contractor be con-
tinued."
Elliot again' tirotested,
arguing that, "if the Huron
County Board of Education is
going to establish Co.
operative bussing, then it
should control the paying of
the contractors. There should
be no private deals."
This triggered a discussion
among trustees who said that
the Whole county should haye
integrated bussing now rat-
her than doing a bit at a time.
Trustee Herb Turkheim said
that Kent County Board of
Education controls the bus-
sing for , all the schools
including the Christian
schools and Roman Catholic
schools. "They save a lot of
dollars."
Trustee John Henderson
reminded him that the
separate schools here "just
won't go along with it, so
why not let the Christian
school settle their bill with
the bus contractor without
us?"
"Well, it's time to ap-
proach the separate schools
again. It will save everybody
money," said trustee B.P.
Morin. "But we can't do all
of this at once. It's no time to
be rash."
damage. Huron Centennial
in Brucefield was victimized
the most, with $674 damage.
The other 49 incidents took
place at the five secondary
schools, totalling $782.62.
The 15 incidents at South
Huron in Exeter accounted
for $545.69 of the total
damage.
School taxes up nearly 1 5°0
hoot vandalism halved
in4wr, Ff.