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THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2001. PAGE 7.
AMDSB to report on birth control information
By Stew Slater
Special to The Citizen
In response to a delegation from a
concerned Stratford parent and a
London-area lawyer, staff of the
Avon Maitland District School
Board will report to trustees about
the provision to students of
information about birth control.
Lisa Hackner, whose daughter is in
Grade 10 at Stratford Northwestern
Secondary School, expressed her
concerns to trustees at a regular
board meeting Tuesday, Jan. 22. She
characterized a demonstration of
proper condom application, about
By Stew Slater
Special to The Citizen
After failing to obtain support in
bids to be named chair, vice-chair,
and member at large during
December's inaugural meeting of the
new Avon Maitland District School
Board, Seaforth-area trustee Charles
Smith was granted the final of his
sought-after appointments: member
of the policy committee.
In presentations to the board
during the Dec. 13 inaugural
meeting, Smith had expressed
a desire for voting rights with
respect to financial. auditing
and policy formation. He was shut
out of the audit committee, however,
when fellow trustees Wendy
Anderson, Colleen Schenk and Meg
Westley received majority support
for the three positions which make
up that committee: chair, vice-chair
and member at large, respectively.
But, as had been predicted by
Anderson following the Dec. 13
meeting, those same three trustees
supported Smith in their parallel
roles in the chairs' committee,
granting his request to be named to
Continued from page,!.
had a question about the presentation
of his notice of motion. Ultimately,
he voted in favour of the agenda.
The same wasn't true for the
next routine matter, the approval
of minutes from the previous
meeting. In that case, he offered
no discussion but was the only
trustee to vote against the motion.
The same thing happened when
Smith provided the only dissenting
vote against a compensation
agreement with principals, in a
which she was told by her daughter's
friends on two occasions, as "not
only offensive to them as students
but also harmful to our children."
Hackner, who added she's a
promoter of sexual abstinence
among unmarried people, said
instruction about birth control "gives
the impression premarital sex is a
matter of choice, rather than right or
wrong."
She also likened such instruction
to the teaching of handgun or drug
use in schools, suggesting it hands
students "a loaded gun" by which
they can harm themselves.
Near the conclusion of Hackner's
the policy committee. Smith will
serve along with Schenk and Donald
Brillinger, according to chairs'
committee assignments approved at
the board's most recent regular
meeting, Tuesday, Jan. 23.
Also Jan. 23, it was revealed that
Smith made a last-ditch attempt to
secure voting rights- on the Audit
committee, by writing to the chairs'
committee asking for the special
appointment of a fourth voting
member.
Smith made reference to the letter
prior to voting on the committee
appointments, pressuring Anderson
to answer his request.
"All trustees are welcome to
meetings of all committees. There is
nothing that is discussed in
committees in this board that is not
eventually voted on at the full board
level," Anderson said, before
responding that no special audit
committee appointment would be
male.
In other committee appointments,
Smith will also serve on a three-
member curriculum pool, which
involves "short-term projects and
work grOups such as negotiating
motion brought forward from closed
session.
And later, there was no discussion,
bin Smith's was the only vote against
cancelling a regular board meeting
during the upcoming March break.
In other cases, including the
acceptance of contract terminations
for three teachers and the approval of
a tendering recommendation on
alterations at Central Perth
Elementary School, Smith abstained
from voting while all other trustees
voted in favour.
allotted 10-minute presentation, she
invited Bruce Long to speak.
Though no one in attendance was
informed of Long's identity,
Hackner explained in a later
interview that Long is currently a
lawyer but worked formerly as a
physical education teacher.
Long explained he could find no
reference to such demonstrations in
the Ontario government's high
school curriculum, nor in lesson
guidelines provided by the Ontario
Physical and Health Educators'
Association (OPHEA).
"I was providing the moral and
emotional arguments, and (Long)
teams, liaison committees arising
from• collective agreements and
program work such as designing
board implementation plans."
As well he'll be one of two
alternates on the special education
advisory committee. Rookie West
and South Perth Trustee Carol
Bennewies will represent the
board on the students' advisory
committee, while new Stratford
representative Rod Brown is the sole
trustee on the school council liaison
committee.
was (explaining) that there's no
place for this type of thing in the
Ontario curriculum," said Hackner,
adding she was put in touch with
Long after sharing her concerns with
one-time MP Garnet Bloomfield.
Bloomfield, an Ilderton-area resident
who ran for the Alliance Party in the
Perth-Middlesex riding in last
November's "federal election,
attended the Jan. 23 meeting but did
not speak.
Following the meeting, senior
Principal Marie Parsons responded
that the provincial curriculum sets
only "expectations," without
defining how those should be
reached. Those decisions are made
separately at each school. She also
admitted she hasn't seen the newest
OPHEA guidelines, which could be
used in this case, because they only
came to the board in the past few
days.
Parsons also explained that the
District Health Units in Perth and
Huron Counties are both required
under Ministry of Health regulations
to provide information to schools
about birth control and sexually
transmitted diseases.. In her
delegation, Hackner acknowledged
the educational materials had been
provided by the health unit, but
added it was the teacher who gave
the instruction.
In the subsequent interview,
Hackner said she has no problem
with students attaining such
information from the health units, or
even from the in-school public
health nurse, upon request. But she
doesn't think it should be presented
to all students by employees of the
school board.
"I'm not even opposed to the
health part of it . . . depending on
how it's presented," she said, adding
she would even support instruction
about the reproductive system.
"There's nothing to be ashamed of in
(sex). But sex is betwep a than and
a woman who are married."
After a lengthy discussion about
procedure and the wording of a
motion, Avon Maitland trustees
voted against establishing an ad hoc
committee to look into the issue, but
supported a motion to ask for further
information from staff. Parsoils
expects a staff report will be
presented in February.
Hackner, a pastor at the Word of
Life Church (though she was careful
not to dwell on this because she
called it "a parenting issue, not a
church issue"), expressed frustration
over the time spent arguing over
procedure She was also disappointed
that the condom demonstration
wasn't suspended pending the results
of the staff report.
Smith abstains from voting
Charles Smith gets appointment