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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1994-02-06, Page 3• Black tidings from HCBE BY DON"JACKSON Local municipal councillors and other area officials were invited to the Huron County Board of Education (HCBE) board room for a financial meeting where board representatives explained the HCBE's financial stale for the upcoming year. The agenda consisted of an explanation of how the grant system .works,how the mill rate is set, how the HCBE is doing com- pared to other school boards, their present financial situation and efforts that have been made to deal with decreased revenue. Over 50 local officials attended the meeting which, saw a host of mayors, .reeves, councillors and clerks in attendance. HCBE Director Paul Carroll opened the meeting by expltaining the magnitude of the financial problems facing the board. "Tho bad news is the nature of the .agenda that brings us together," he said. "Our purpose is to share the situation that the trustees find themselves in." "I don't believe, in my' history as an employee' of this .board, 1 have ever witnessed the' kind. of dilemma that faces your elected education officials.". Carroll explained that, presently in this area, about 60 per cent of property tax' , goes towards education while 40• per cent goes to the municipalities. He said that 20- years ago the shares were reversed. He told those in attendance what is meant by provincial • `downloading'. The largest grant tfic board receives from the province is the basic per pupil grant. In Huron County, the province has seta ceiling, on what it costs, to • put an individual student through a year of school. The figure is -roughly $5,000 for a. secondary school student and $4,000 for an elementary school student.,- "The'ministry • (of Magnitude of problems face Huron's public education board' education) actually makes the first determination of how much property tax will be of this year's grant," Carroll said. The province sets what is called the standard mill rate. This is a rate which decides what pbr- centage of the basic per pupil grant will be paid by the provin- cial government and how much will come out of local property taxes. While the board is an- ticipating the local share of the per pupil grant to increase as the province looks fpr ways to reduce their expenses, Carroll said the standard mill rate will not be announced to boards, probably until the beginning of April. Superintendent of of Business Janet Baird -Jackson explained the im- pact, downloading could have on the HCBE. "What this means is that, even if a board holds expen- ditures the same (as the previous year), the local mill rate could still increase." She pointed out several financial factors the board has faced and will have to face. In 1992, there was a grant freeze. In 1993 there were provincial budget charges, changes in the board budget and the Social Contract Act made demands of between$1.9 and $2.4 million. This year they anticipate an .increase in the standard mill rate. She said, "The net result of (these factors) is to generate an 18-20 per cent lax hike. The im- pact of that change is to substan- tially increase.municipal taxation." Carroll said that the board has made ambitious efforts to cut' expenditures but could be unable to absorb the standard mill rate's increase of the local shares because of cuts that were already made. "The issue is that this board has directed its administration to cut. Expenditures are coming down in six -digit amounts and, yet, the takes are still going up." Glen Lamb, the board's financial services administrator, outlined how the HCBE rates compared to neighboring school boards. •He said that the HCBE has the lowest expenditures of seven local boards (Bruce, Grey, Lambton, Mid- dlesex, Perth and Wellington) for per pupil secondary student expen- ditures. They have the second' lowest expenditures for elementary per . pupil expenditures, being second only to Perth County. The HCBE also takes the least amount of local taxation pet household for education.out of the seven boards. "In regard to all the school boards, Huron is one of the most efficient," said Carroll. . Lionel Wilder, representing Hay Township, expressed a concern that most of those ,.present ap- peared to share. "There's gpt to be a better way. We can't live with a 20 per cern incrcase.'It's (because of) the.. demands of the teachers' federations. Something has to he done about it." His- comments were received with applause from the other officials. Bayfield Clerk Pat Graham explained the situation the increase creates for Bayfield. "The Village of Bayfield has suddenly got itself in a double whammy.. The double • -whammy is the (property) ,reassessment. We sent you approximately $800,000 from 600 residents. We• sent $200,000. to the county and $600,000 to the board of education. We can't go any further." Several other officials expressed concern for their constituents if they had to put forth a large tax hike. Bruce teacher talks still on There are indications that the snail -like pace of negotiations be- tween the Bruce County Board of Education and its secondary teach-° ers may be quickening. The two sides met with a media- tor January 31. The five-hour ses- sion was considerably longer than the half-hour meeting held under a previous mediator last year. Negotiating teams for the teach- ers and trustees head back to the table March 3 for another round of contract talks. In the meantime, both sides will meet February 1410 discuss how to meet social contract payroll cuts. Last, fall teacher's spokesman Mark Ciavaglia predicted the two sides would argue a lot about the • numbers in those targets, including staff, money and unpaid leave days. Trustee Gard Thompson agreed it will "likely take a lot of meetings" to settle the issues. The 287 secondary teachers with the Bruce board are well into their Second school year without a con- tract. Their last agreement expired August 31; 1992. In September 1993, teachers voted 97 per cent in favour of turning bargaining over to a team from the teachers' federation provincial office in Toronto. NO TRUSTEES CUT - The Bruce County Board ,of Education won't betaking up. Edu- cation Minister David Cooke's suggestion to reduce its size or join another board. - . Cooke recently told a trustees' conference in Toronto that school boards should take steps to reduce their numbers or be forced to do so by the province. • The geography and population of the county make Cooke's idea of smaller numbers impractical, trus- tees decided. "Bruce county is actually at 0-6 high end," said Director of Education . Paul Martindale about the ratio of electors to trustees.,"We could actually add a trustee." . The Board decided against that' step, as well. But with 22 board committees to serve on and a modest honorarium, Trustee David Inglis' suggested they could save more money by cooperating with neighboring boards Inglis cited busing, purchasing and curriculum development as areas.' the boards could work together to save money. The Bruce board now shares over 70 bus routes with its two neighbor boards. In a show of restraint, trustees declined to $9.90. a .month pay increase theyare eligible for this year. The honorarium remains at $590 a month, with the chair and vice -chair making 50 per cent and 25 per cern more than that respectively. Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, February 16, 1994 — Page 3 1 -THE HURON COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION' INVITES APPLICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP ON AN' ANTIRACISM AND ETHNOCULTURAL - EQUITY COMMITTEE 1 his Committee, consisting of hoard members, staff members and community members, will assist.the Huron County Board of Education In developing a .policy on antiracism and ethnocultural equity as well as a plan for implementing its policy. Boards must submit their policies and implementation plans to the Ministry of Education & Training no later than March 31st, 1995. Applications, including -a brief statement outlining the reasons for wanting to he a committee member, should be forwarded to the undersigned prior to March 11th, 1'994. Paul Carroll � i).iroctor Paul Carroll Secretary -Treasurer • Huron County Board of.Education 103 Albert Street Clinton, Ontario NOM 1L0 �o tle Itis, • • ''e 14/ �l Bei p Graeme Craig Chair ANNUALctA IncJ WINTER THE KI-TCHEN SALE YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR! 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