HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1997-01-15, Page 1News ■ Sports ■____Special Education
Hospital board
hears report of
action committee
See page 6
Bulls take on
Barons for tie and
a win
See page 8
Snowmobilers,
environmentally
friendly
See page 11
County will not
lose JK program
— yet
See page 19
CitizenTheNorthHuron Education changes
sweep across prov.
Vol. 13 No 2 Wednesday, Jan. 15,1997 7oc.5Cgst750
By Janice Becker
Citizen staff
Sweeping changes to education
will push across the province in the
next year as Education Minister
John Snobelen announced new
methods of funding and the amal
gamation of school boards.
"History has been made today,"
said Acting Director of the Huron
County Board of Education, Chuck
Rowland, at the Jan. 13 session of
the board. Rowland was referring
to the immense changes detailed in
a meeting held in London earlier
Monday and attended by represen
tatives from school boards across
midwestem Ontario.
A change, which administration
at the HCBE has been preparing for
for some time, is the amalgamation
of the Huron and Perth boards,
effective Jan. 1, 1998, as are the
other proposed changes.
The realignment will see the
number of provincial school boards
drop from 129 to only 66, with a
two-thirds cut in trustee representa
tion. HCBE presently has 16
trustees. That number will drop to a
combined total of five to 12 with
the amalgamation, based on popu
lation.
Those trustees elected to the
board will also have to meet new
guidelines to reduce conflicts of
interest. No trustee shall be an
employee of any board nor the
spouse of an employee, stated the
report.
With the changing face of educa
tion, Snobelen plans to announce
legislation in the spring regarding
the strength of school advisory
councils (SAC). Parents will have
more input on major decisions such
as programs, the reporting of stu
dent progress and discipline.
"There are more questions than
answers with this report," said
Rowland, to a subdued board room,
after the presentation.
"The government is disbanding
(a system) which is recognized
around the world as a model for
public education," said Joan Van
den Broeck, trustee of Goderich
and Colborne Twps. "They are
trashing our future."
With a reduction in trustees rep
resentation, student trustee for
Goderich District Collegiate Insti
tute, Vance McPherson questioned
how such a small board would
operate. He noted that many deci
sions are presently made at the
committee level, in groups the size
of the future total board, then
brought to the full board for
approval. He also asked what role
student trustees would have on the
small, amalgamated board.
"I fear the boards will become
just a mouthpiece for the govern
ment," interjected Van den Broeck.
Further information regarding
amalgamation and the process will
be brought forward in coming
weeks.
Hospitals work together
to make joint proposal
Wipeout
Erin Moore, bottom and Brittany Cook took the bumpy way down the hill as they enjoyed
another dose of winter this past Saturday. Not to be deterred by blustery weather, the girls,
along with other family members from Blyth Community Church of God, were warming up to
winter's chill with a day of outdoor activity and fun.
Changes not enough for Blyth reeve
By Janice Becker
Citizen staff
The changes to education
finance, announced by Education
Minister John Snobelen, Monday,
were not acceptable to Blyth Reeve
Mason Bailey.
"We are not happy with it at all,"
he said in a phone interview, Tues
day morning.
The report stated that education
taxes would no longer be collected
through residential property taxes,
but would remain on commercial
and industrial property taxes.
The business taxes would be used
within the region for which they
were collected and there would not
be a pooling of resources.
"People who have businesses will
be worse off," said Bailey, "and
there is a question if homeowners
will be better off or not."
In explaining the plan for financ
ing to Huron County Board of Edu
cation trustees, Jan 13., HCBE
Chair Allan Carter, trustee for Hen
sail and Tuckersmith Twp., said
funding for education will come
from provincial grants, apparently
on a per pupil basis to replace the
residential tax portion.
Asked if the province will take
into consideration that Huron
County has few industries, Carter
said no mention was made of that
factor.
"Through developing a dollar
cost per student, the province will
try to equalize boards, taking into
consideration inner city urban
areas, special needs students,
English as a second language
requirements or northern regions,"
said Carter.
"What about rural areas? Was
that an omission?" asked Abby
Armstrong, trustee for Bayfield and
Stanley Twp.
"It was not an omission by us,"
said Acting Director of Education
for HCBE Chuck Rowland. "As
Allan (Carter) and I discussed, rural
Ontario does not exist (to the
province)."
"We have been nailed to the wall
if there is no consideration (for
rural areas)," added Armstrong.
In responding to a comment from
Snobelen's report which said school
boards were unaccountable for
Continued on page 6
In a co-operative effort by the
members of the boards of the eight
Huron and Perth hospitals, another
option for cost savings has been
developed which would see the
retention of all facilities.
A series of meetings over the
past two weeks led to the creation
of a proposal which would result in
a 13.4 per cent cost savings in min
istry funding, including a 17 per
cent reduction in administration
and support expenditure, stated a
press release from the joint com
mittee. This number meets theh
District Health Council’s Hospital
and Related Health Services Study
Task Force criteria.
The proposal calls for: hospital
care and emergency services at all
eight hospitals, with each having
in-patient beds, out-patients pro
grams and diagnostic services;
Clinton, Exeter, Seaforth and St.
Marys facilities would be sized
according to the needs of the com
munities; obstetrics and surgery
would complement essential ser
vices in Goderich, Listowel and
Wingham; Goderich would contin
ue to provide mental health pro
grams and Stratford would serve as
a district referral centre offering
essential services and programs that
require a specialist such as pedi
atrics, rehabilitation and specialized
surgery. There would also be a
staged, two-year implementation of
the restructuring, to be completed
by April, 1999.
Food Fair history
After three years of growing suc
cess, A Taste of Country Food
Fair, held each July in Blyth, has
been discontinued.
Only three people turned up at a
meeting held Jan. 7 to discuss the
future of the event. Though atten
dance was up at last summer's fair,
and the gourmet barbecue, featur
ing Huron County foods, was sold
out, the number of exhibitors had
dropped by nearly one third from
1995.
"We couldn't plan on having a
fair in 1997 unless we had an assur
ance that the exhibitors were still
interested," said Keith Roulston,
chair of this showcase of Huron
County food producers and manu-
Contlnued on page 7