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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times-Advocate, 2002-10-09, Page 7By Stew Slater SPECIAL TO THE TIMES-ADVOCATE LONDON — Mike Murphy, president of the compa- ny which dominates school bus transportation in Huron and Perth counties, began his presentation to the Task Force studying Ontario’s educational fund- ing formula by stating the goal of his family-owned business is to make profit. But he quickly added that doesn’t mean it comes ahead of student safety. "I defer to my partners when it comes to safety," said Murphy Bus Lines president Mike Murphy, referring to people like recently-retired London and District Catholic School Board director Pat Dunne, who joined Murphy at the presenters’ table. The duo stood out among about 65 delegations which appeared last Wednesday and Thursday before the provincial government-mandated Education Equality Task Force, which brought its schedule of public consultations to London’s Hilton Hotel. School boards and social service providers covering territory stretching from Windsor to Guelph and Hamilton made presentations, as did various teacher, parent and student representatives. The Murphy Bus Lines president’s comment about the drive for profit was one indication that, at times during their 15 minutes before chairperson Dr. Mordechai Rozanski and five other Task Force mem- bers, Dunne and Murphy appeared almost at crossed purposes. Another indication came later, when Dunne seemed to challenge Murphy’s earlier com- ment by stating emphatically, "I’m deeply con- cerned, Dr. Rozanski, that we will end up with a monopoly (in school bus service) which will hold (school boards) up for ransom." Yet it was clear the two men shared a respect for each other, as shown by their ability to joke about their common Irish heritage. And it was equally clear they share a concern about the province’s edu- cational funding formula as shown by their ability to reach the same conclusion during their presentation. "I regret that such misery has been visited upon (school bus operators) — partners who are as vital to education in Ontario as the teachers are, as the school secretaries are, as the support workers are," said Dunne, referring to what he described as a crit- ical shortfall in funding for transportation. Both men praised a number of school boards across the province which, often in conjunction with "co-terminous" boards which share the same terri- tory, developed efficient transportation systems well before the late 1990s, when the Conservative gov- ernment decided it would begin financially reward- ing boards for implementing new levels of efficiency. Dunne explained this led to a situation where the Toronto District School Board began revamping what had been an inefficient system, then received so much transportation funding in 1999 it was able to transfer an extra $6 million out of transportation into other areas of expense. Meanwhile, the previously efficient London Catholic board received "very little increase" since 1995, and even that essentially translated into a decrease when inflation and rising operational costs were considered. Murphy described the work of the Bus Operators Provincial Viability Committee, which has devised a formula for calculating how much grant money each operator should get, based on a wide range of fac- tors. He then described a recent conversation at a conference in British Columbia, where he learned that adoption of that province’s transportation for- mula could mean as much as $10 million more in Ontario’s total transportation budget. He agreed this offered some indication that Ontario’s system was more efficient, but also that it’s under-funded. Transportation funding shortfalls were prominent in various other presentations during the Task Force’s two-day stay in London. A written submis- sion from the Avon Maitland District School Board, upon which chairperson Colleen Schenk’s oral pre- sentation was based, states that, due to the shortfall in transportation funding for 2001-02, "a net $918,747 was transferred from an already lean facilities budget to subsidize a lean and efficient transportation system, thereby postponing and increasing the amount of money needed to maintain our physical facilities." That same submission also recommends "urgent consideration . . . be given to including in the Special Education allocation funds for transporting identi- fied students to their placements when the trans- portation needs of these students cannot be met using chrome yellow buses on their regular routes." Murphy shared this concern about the province’s failure to recognize the vastly increased per-student cost for transporting students with special needs. So did Joyce Bennett, chairperson of the Thames Valley District School Board. In her presentation, Bennett explained the average cost for transporting a student in her board is $640 per year, yet the average for Special Education students is over $5,000 per year. "I often say there is no policy that will protect you from special education needs," Murphy commented. "You can’t ignore a special education child, but it leaves a deficit on the transportation budget you’ve got left." The Education Equality Task Force is scheduled to deliver recommendations to the provincial govern- ment in November. 10 Wednesday, October 9, 2002Exeter Times–Advocate More paperwork for school boards By Stew Slater SPECIAL TO THE TIMES-ADVOCATE HURON/PERTH — The four Ontario-wide organizations that rep- resent school boards and trustees have formed a consortium to reduce the per-employee price of obtaining criminal background checks. But that doesn’t mean they’re qui- etly accepting the Conservative gov- ernment’s edict that such checks must now be obtained for all pre- sent and future employees. Nor are they quietly accepting the fact the government has given already cash- strapped boards no money to cover the costs. "This is the kind of extra paper- work that we talked about in our presentation to the Task Force," explained Huron-Perth Catholic District School Board trustee Ron Marcy during a regular board meet- ing Sept. 30. Marcy was referring to a presenta- tion by himself and fellow trustee Bernard Murray the week previ- ously, before the government-man- dated Education Equality Task Force, which is scheduled to deliver recommendations in November about making the province’s educa- tional funding formula more effec- tive. "I know we weren’t the only board to make that point, but that just goes to show that, if the province is going to require this, fund it," Marcy said. Director of Education Gaetan Blanchette agreed, suggesting the updated requirements for criminal background checks will not only represent time for board staff and money paid to the agencies adminis- tering the tests, but could also necessitate such things as new com- puter software and administrative training. "Every year after the criminal checks are completed, each person will have to submit a declaration that they have not had any criminal convictions in the year since they last submitted. And they’ll have to submit one every time they’re trans- ferred from one building to anoth- er," Blanchette explained. "We’re going to have to have a way to track all that." Under the previous requirements, all new employees paid for their own criminal background checks, but those who were employed before that legislation were not required to submit anything. Now, criminal background checks must be collected for every single board employee and so-called "offence declarations" must be submitted annually after that happens. School boards concerned,despite literacy success By Stew Slater SPECIAL TO THE TIMES-ADVOCATE HURON/PERTH — Grade 10 students from both publicly-funded school boards in Huron and Perth counties achieved an 81 per cent success rate on a provincial- ly-standardized literacy test last February, the first edition of the test after it became a requirement for high school graduation. Boards were given a Sept. 30 deadline to release board-wide results from the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test, administered by an arms-length govern- ment agency called the Education Quality Assessment Office (EQAO). School-by- school comparisons had to be released by Oct. 7, though the Avon Maitland District School Board already made that informa- tion available during its most recent reg- ular meeting, Sept. 24. Both Stratford Central Secondary School and South Huron District High School in Exeter achieved 86 per cent success rates, while Goderich District Collegiate Institute was at 84 per cent and St. Marys DCVI at 83 per cent. Below-the-board-average high schools in the Avon Maitland board were Stratford Northwestern Secondary School (71 per cent), the now-closed Seaforth District High School (76 per cent) and Listowel District Secondary School (77 per cent). Students from the Huron-Perth Catholic District School Board actually fared slightly better than their Avon Maitland counterparts, depending on how the results are analyzed. The identical 81 per cent board-wide mark is derived from the so-called "Method 2" calculation, which takes into account only those students able to complete both the reading and writing portions of the standardized test. Under "Method 1," which takes in all eligible students whether they were able to attend both portions of the test or not, Huron-Perth achieved a success rate of 79 per cent, while the Avon Maitland rate was 77 per cent. Either way, administrators at both boards were pleased, especially when considering the province-wide success rate was 75 per cent under Method 2 and 69 per cent under Method 1. The problem, however, is the students who didn’t pass. In order to be granted high school diplomas upon completion of Grade 12, they must pass the test either this year or next year. And that problem has been compound- ed, both boards say, both by a chronic inability of the EQAO to promptly release results, and by some recent changes in the schedule for administration of the test. "When the test was first introduced, students were to be given the opportuni- ty to write in the fall and again in the spring," states an information package provided to Huron-Perth trustees at a regular meeting Sept. 30. "This would have given students six opportunities to be successful prior to graduation. The government . . . has now changed the rules and students will only write the test once each year, in October." At the Sept. 24 Avon Maitland meeting, Stratford trustee Meg Westley suggested the students who failed last February’s test will have little chance to prepare for this month’s second chance, and may find themselves putting all their hopes on the 2003 test. "They effectively only have one more chance now," Westley said. In an interview after the meeting, Avon Maitland education superintendent Marjatta Longston noted that, under the original EQAO timeline, high school guid- ance counsellors might have suggested some students defer from taking the next scheduled test, so they could prepare more fully for the springtime edition. "Now, there’s no sense deferring any student. We have to have them write it. "We have grave concerns," Longston said. Huron-Perth education superintendent Ray Contois agreed. And he said the problem is compounded by the fact results take so long to be released. Under the new schedule, students will write the test in October but not know if they passed or failed until March of the next year. He explained results from last February’s tests began to be released on a student-by-student basis in June, so some principals were able to advise par- ents and students to visit the EQAO Web site over the summer and take advan- tage of literacy exercises made available by the agency. But he still thinks that’s not enough time for boards and schools to help stu- dents who don’t succeed. "With all the technology there is, that information should be available — bang, bang, bang," commented Huron-Perth trustee Bernard Murray. "I really don’t understand it." Transportation one of main concerns during hearings Bog fire put out BIDDULPH — The burning peatbog on Airport Drive appears to be all fizzled out. Lucan Biddulph administrator Ron Reymer said 14 loads of water were dumped on the property between Denfield Road and Coursey Line to help extinguish the underground fire, which had been burning for about a month. Reymer credited property owner Bruce Henry with being co-operative by allowing water from one of his ponds to be used to stop the burning. As previously reported, burning bogs are diffi- cult to extinguish because the burning takes place underground. Often, massive amounts of water are needed.