The Rural Voice, 2000-03, Page 58HURON
Box 429, Clinton, Ontario NOM 1L0
519-482-9642 or 1-800-511-1135 Email: huron®ota.on.ca
• The Rural Voice is provided to all farmers
County Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER in Huron County by the HCFA.
Rural Education Committee formed by Huron and Perth Federations
In order to impress upon the Ontario
Ministry of Education the need for
change in the way they fund rural
education we invite you to lobby for a
Rural Education Strategy that
encompasses the following points:
L That an adequate funding formula
be developed for Rural School Boards.
A Rural Funding Formula needs to keep
the following points in mind:
• large geographic Boards in rural areas
are at a disadvantage under the current
formula because we do not have the
population densities.
• small. school size should not be
discriminated against from a funding
aspect and the value of education. If all
elementary schools in the province
under 350 students were to be closed
this would result in the loss of 53 per
cent of Ontario's elementary schools.
• provincial funding must reflect the
fact that if portions of schools are
closed then this space be removed from
the formulas to determine
accommodation levels.
2. Accommodation reviews need to
be based on smaller review areas within
a school board district and that only the
enrollment levels of schools within a
given review area be used to determine
whether the board needs new pupil
spaces in that area.
3. Government policies and funding
mechanisms need to be in place which
ensure that school closures are
examined in the context of their
potential implications for the students
and the entire community, prior to
decision making. We have a concern
that the full economic impact of closing
a particular school may be much more
detrimental to the economy of a given
area, and in turn the province, than any
savings to the education budget. Rural
schools act as the social infrastructure
for the area, and need to be preserved as
the delivery model for other services.
The funding formula must allow for
this.
4. Special education funding needs
to be increased to cover the non-
educational costs•of providing this
service which would have traditionally
been covered by the Ministry of Health.
5. A funding formula that enables
Boards to cap the time at 45 minutes for
busing children to and from school.
Reaction to rising diesel fuel costs urged
The price of diesel fuel has
surpassed the price of regular gasoline
at the retail outlets across Ontario and
in many other areas in Canada and the
U.S.
A strategy is being developed by
OFA in conjunction with the Ontario
Truckers Association (OTA) to deal
with the situation.
OFA President Jack Wilkinson sees
it as "bad timing" for farmers for
planting crops and needing
transportation for seeds, fertilizers, etc.
HCFA OFFICE HOURS
Mondays and Fridays
9 a.m. to 12 noon
• 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Please leave a message.
(519) 482-9642 or 1-800-511-1135
FAX (519) 482-1416
Email: huron@ofa.on ca
4th Monday of each month
Board of Directors Meeting, Vanastra
All OFA members welcome.
56 THE RURAL VOICE
as well as reasonably priced fuel and
they should not tolerate what the oil
industry is doing.
OFA is preparing to make a
submission to the Ontario Gas Prices
Review Task Force and encourages
individual farmers and local federations
to do the same thing. Submissions can
be faxed to the ONTARIO GAS
PRICES REVIEW TASK FORCE at
416-325-6255 or mailed to: 35th Floor,
250 Yonge Street, Toronto, M5B 2N5.0
6. All school funding come directly
from the government, not through local
municipalities. This has created extra
interest costs to the Boards as they wait
for municipal assessment dollars, which
are difficult to verify as well.
The government of Ontario has to
hear from all stakeholders on this issue
if we are going to make real changes to
the current underfunding of our
education system. Your local MPP, the
Minister of Education, and the Premier
need to hear these points from all
concerned stakeholders if we are to get
the changes to the funding formula
which are needed.
THE FIX HAS TO BE NEW MONEY,
NOT A RESHUFFLE OF CURRENT
FUNDS.O
MORE TRACTOR KITS COMING
Directors and member helpers will be
touring the townships of McKillop, Goderich,
Hullett, Colborne and Grey later this winter
and early spring to distribute our
complimentary "tractor" reflective safety tape
kits to all OFA members.
5th FARM HIKER TOUR
Sunday, October 1
Lucknow and area
Watch for more details.
HURON FEDERATION OF
AGRICULTURE ANNUAL MEETING
Thursday, October 12
Watch this page for additional information
YOUNG FARMERS FORUM
March 11 at 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Listowel Agricultural Hall
Anyone interested in attending
please contact the HCFA office at
519-482-9642 or 1-800-511-1135.
PROFILE:
New Board Member on Huron County Federation of Agriculture
Board of Directors
Dave Lewington is a new director on the Huron County Federation of Agriculture Board of
Directors. He farms on the family farm with his parents in a farrow to finish operation, as well as
feeder cattle. Dave is on the Huron County Pork Producers board and a volunteer director on
10HPA (Independent Ontario Hog Producers Association). We welcome Dave to our board.
Dave says - "As a young farmer, I am very concerned about GMO issues, high debt loads of
farmers, contract farming, factory farms, and the loss of an open, competitive marketplace for
farm commodities. All of these issues are having a negative impact on the independent family
farm."0