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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 1991-10-16, Page 9THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16,1991. PAGE 9. Bd. of Ed. candidates speak at meeting A lively debate on the future of education took place at the Morris Township ratepayers meeting Thursday night when the two can didates for the Morris and Tumber- ry seat on the Board of Education spoke to ratepayers and retiring trustee Brian Jeffray expressed some of his frustrations with the educational system. Doug Gamiss, a Morris township farmer running for board of educa tion, said he was concerned about taxation levels and the cost of edu cation but he also felt that educa tion was the most important place lax dollars can be spent. He had been involved with farm groups such as the Ontario Federation of Agriculture and had worked on the Farm Debt Review Board and had been involved in government long enough to know there aren't any easy answers to most problems. Carmen Klaus, the other candi date for board of education said she had been involved with the North Huron Community Development committee. As a parent and a tax payer she felt there were a lot of County study recommends no change in municipalities The final report of the Huron County Study will recommend retaining all 26 municipalities in the county, the Oct. 3 meeting of County Council learned. Dr. Gary Davidson, director of the Huron County Planning and Development department told councillors that in the past month members of the committee had considered options ranging from dissolving all municipalities so there was only a county level, to reducing the number of municipali ties to 3-5, to retaining all 26 municipalites to adding new munic ipalities as hamlets and police vil lages grew. After a discussion lasting nearly three hours Sept. 24, the Study Committee had come to a consen sus recommending no changes. This does not preclude voluntary amalgamations or boundary adjust ments in future, the committee said. The Study committee will now turn its attention to alternative ways of coping with change. Dr. David son said that because this process will take longer than expected, the timetable to produce a final report of the Study next month can’t be met. Donnybrook hosts rally Sixty-six people attended the 30th West Huron Rally of Huron- Perth Presbyterial United Church Women, held in Donnybrook Unit ed Church on October 8. Mrs. Edith Walker, president, introduced the theme for the day “Be Ye Kind”. This theme was car ried out throughout the day in the Bible Study, skit, and theme speak er. Special music in the morning fea tured Goderich ladies Mrs. Shirley McMillan on the saxaphonc and Joan Henwood on piano. In the afternoon, all enjoyed a duet by Rev. Paul Ross, and Mrs. Phyllis Rodger, accompanied by Marjorie McDougall (all of Auburn). The theme speaker, Rev. Kathi Urbasik-Hindley, Goderich shared her bag of kindness. Those present were from Auburn, Benmiller, Blyth, Donnybrook, Dungannon, Goderich, Holmes ville, Nile and Trinity-Ashfield. problems in the education system where children could go from ele mentary school to secondary school without being able to read or add. With 61 per cent of tax dollars going to education, she said, she'd like to see improvements. The lower cost of living in Huron coun ty meant teachers shouldn't require as much salary to live here as in Toronto, she said. "Maybe we should keep in mind we are the employers and we can only afford so much." She said that only by example can we teach children to be functional and competitive in the world of tomorrow. Brian Jeffray, who is retiring after two terms as trustee for Mor ris and Turnberry said every ratepayer should be on the board of education once in a lifetime and learn how democracy works and doesn't work, and how long it takes to work when it does work. For now, he said, he just wanted to be a farmer and a father again. During his six years, he said, the budget for public education in Huron had swollen from between $45-$48 million a year to nearly $60 milion. There are 10,000 stu dents in the system and 1000 employees. "Everybody in the room except the teachers would agree salaries are too high but the mechanics and the tools are not at the county level to change that," he said. "The powers that be are not behind the trustees when they try to hold the line," he said. He said that if trustees refused teacher demands (six trustees voted against the most recent secondary teachers contract) and there was a strike, the power of the arbitrators would come down on the side of the teachers. He said he was concerned about decisions of the province to force expensive programs on the local school board. Class sizes just keep getting smaller and smaller because of provincial regulations, he said. Huron had been fighting forced institution of Junior Kindergarten by provincial authorities but "if push came to shove" and the provincial government insists, it would mean a need for 20 more classrooms in Huron elementary schools. Later during question period Mr. Jeffray said it was terribly frustrat ing for trustees not to have much control on policies that were forced on them by the province. "There is no Huron County flavour to poli cies sent down from the province," he said. The junior kindergarten program is popular in the cities. The subject of junior kinder garten (JK) split opinion at the meeting. Mr. Garniss asked Mr. Jeffray if there was any way Huron could put JK on hold long enough for the province to forget about it. Mr. Jeffray replied that funds for the program had recently been cut in provincial belt-tightening but it seems the program will still be implemented on schedule. It may be up to local taxpayers to pick up the whole shot, he said. Ms. Klaus fell the children would be forced to start school at too early a time. Parents arc using the school system as a babysitter, she claimed. But meeting chairman Bill Richards, who moved to Canada from England, said Huron County is not competitive to the rest of the world in education. His children were bored when they first enrolled in local schools because they were being taught things they had learned at a much earlier level in England, he said. Ontario children are taught the wrong things at the wrong times, he said. The local education system has a tendency to reach the lowest level of learning in the class. "You have to do all you can for the slower stu dent," he said, but said brighter stu dents shouldn't be held back. If children started earlier for junior kindergarten, there's no reason they shouldn't finish high school earlier. In the future, he warned, our stu dents will have to compete with the world. Mr. Jeffray argued that there is too much emphasis put on universi ty and not enough on apprentice ship programs. If more students learned trades, more would be able to find jobs in Huron county and could enjoy a better lifestyle than instead of being forced to live in the city to work. "I think there's a lot of potential for arrangements between business and the schools," he said. He noted that in the next 15 years there will be a lot of people in the trade retir ing, opening up a large number of job opportunities. SAVINGS ON SCHNEIDER'S FAMOUS FOR QUALITY MEATS SCHNEIDER’S BEEF SCHNEIDER'S BUCKET OF SCHNEIDER'S RED HOT SCHNEIDER’S SLICED STEAKETTES 1. CHICKEN 454 G.'1 WIENERS 2. BOLOGNA f I 450 G. We reserve the right to limit quantities Prices In effect from October 15-19 While quantities last Deliveries Monday to Friday onlyl Open 6 days a week r Monday to Saturday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday Nights until 9 p.m. 887-9226 500 G. SALE HERE! VILLAGE MARKET GROCERY SAVINGS THIS WEEK ONLY BECEL LIGHT MARGARINE 1.691 LB. KELL°“'5 . CORN FLAKES4 400 G. ■ RAGU HOMESTYLE 20% OFF SPAGHETTI SAUCE REGULAR OR 4 ft ft WITH MEAT I I IV* 375 ML. I ■ W HALLOWEEN CANDY! CARNATION HOT CHOCOLATE 10 - 28 G ENVELOPES ZZ,.,^O 1. ROBIN HOOD - CHOCOLATE CHIP BROWNIE MIX 450 G.1.39 COTT POP OLD TYME TABLE SYRUP 2.49750 ML CATELLI MAC & CHEESE DINNER 225 G. ROBIN HOOD PRODUCE MUFFIN MIX LEMON, J A A BANANA, HAZEL | J 11NUT & CARROT | 450 G. ASSORTED O FLAVOURS 2 LITRE PLASTIC NORMAL-DRY - FINE AGREE SHAMPOO 2.99300 ML. CATELLJ MACARONI OR SPAGHETTI ASSORTED FLAVOURS CREST TOOTHPASTE h.89l 100 ML 500 G.■ LIPTON CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP 2 PACK 1. HEAD LETTUCE EA.59 GREEN CABBAGE EA.69