HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2002-03-27, Page 9THE HURON EXPOSITOR, April 11, 2-0
Chris Colbourne photos
Let the bidding begin
The Dublin-Mitchell-Seaforth lions Club held their annual TV
auction on Saturday at the Dublin Community Centre with
proceeds going to various community projects. At left, Lion Ron
Scotchmer and auctioneer Andrew Rowers look on as bids are
placed on the board and at right, volunteer Laura Gerrow takes a
bid over the phone.
Catholic board anxious for funding
from province so year can be planned
By Stew Slater
Special to The Huron Expositor
School boards across
Ontario, including the Huron -
Perth Catholic District School
Board, are still waiting ,to find
out how much money they'll
have for the 2001-2002 school
year.
However, next year's
enrolment projections have
been calculated by Huron -Perth
officials and staffing decisions
are being made (including a
Ilan to split the twinned
Stratford -based St. Aloysius
and St. Joseph's elementary
schools, giving each a separate
principal starting next autumn).
"We're all getting anxious to
start our planning," said Huron
Perth superintendent • of
business Gerry Thuss,
following the board's regular
meeting Monday, March 26.
In February, director of
education Gaetan Blanchette
told trustees the board had
received word from the
province that announcements
about what's called the
"legislative grant" - basically,
the value of the board's entire
budget for the upcoming school
year - would be delayed from
the previously -planned date just
prior to the March Break. At
the time, he predicted the
government would release
details near the conclusion of
the student holiday.
But school boards across the
province are still waiting,
nearly a month after the
originally -planned release date.
And Blanchette says the
government has providing no
information regarding the
delay.
In the meantime, Huron -
Perth officials have planned the
staffing change at the Stratford
schools and released what's
called the "Projected
Elementary Organization" plan
for next year, based on
enrolment estimates. Both
plans were approved by trustees
at the March 26 meeting.
Catholic elementary
enrolment across, the two
counties is expected to drop by
the equivalent of 14 full-time
students by next September,
and the biggest school-based
Catholic board downplays
Grade io test results
despite encouraging standing
By Susan Hundertmark
Expositor Staff
The Huron -Perth Catholic District School
Board finally made an official announcement
regarding its relatively heartening results
from last autumn's standardized Grade 10
literacy tests, weeks after most other school
boards in Ontario issued their news releases.
"(The board) is encouraged that its Grade
10 students scored above the Ontario average
in October's standardized tests assessing
reading and writing abilities,". states the
news release, approved by trustees at a
regular board meeting Monday, March 26.
The release shows 70 per cent of Huron -
Perth students who v./rote the test achieved
passing grades, ahead of the 68 per cent
average for the entire province.
Most school boards officially released
their success rates when board -by -board
results were announced in early March by
the Education Quality and Accountability
Office (EQAO), the arms -length government
agency which administers the tests.
But, despite the board's place ahead of all
its Southwestern Ontario counterparts,
officials of the Huron -Perth board decided
not to widely issue results, opting instead to
fulfill specific requests for information,
including from the media.
At the time, director of education Gaetan
Blanchette told reporters he wanted to wait
until further information about the test was
released, so greater context would be
available by which to judge the results.
He was also reluctant to assign
significance to the test, partly because
students knew a passing grade in last
October's first-time version would not be
required for high school graduation, and
partly because he believes the role of such
tests, though important, should be limited.
"If it ever comes to the point where a test
becomes sacred, then it ends up that it
becomes the major thing and the curriculum
becomes secondary," Blanchette said at the
time.
However, provincial regulations require
that the board release its EQAO numbers
within a given time frame, so Huron -Perth
has now complied.
The next step is currently under -way, as
EQAO officials inform each student
separately whether or not they passed or
failed the standardized test.
According to a letter sent to the board by
EQAO director Patrick Madden on March
20, "technical difficulties" impeded
distribution of the student notices, meaning
that "all schools received the reports later
than we had originally intended."
But Huron -Perth superintendent of
education Ray Contois says he's certain all
notices have now been received in the
district.
"I was just wondering. Maybe the EQAO
should be given a test and see if they can get
50 per cent or 60 per cent or 70 per cent,"
quipped board chair Ron Marcy, when
trustees were informed of this development.
The next step is for the school -by -school
results to be released. Contois says this will
happen in mid-April.
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changes will be at St. Mary's
school in Hesson and St.
Boniface school in Zurich, both
of which will lose one
classroom.
But even with all these
preparations, the real planning
can't begin until the provincial
government comes through
with details of the legislative
grant.
"That drives everything.
That's all our financing for the
whole year," Thuss explained.
He says board officials can
make some guesses according
to recent statements regarding
the provincial budget.
And even after the legislative
grant announcement is made, a
lot of the decisions won't be
finalized until subsequent
provincial guidelines are
determined.
But last year, the government
successfully released the grant
numbers just prior to March
Break, and each day without
the numbers this year means
fewer days for planning.
"The earlier we can get at it
for the next school year, the
better." Thuss commented.
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OCNA PREMIER AWARD
Huron Expositor reporter Susan
Hundertmark's article about the
challenges faced by an arranged
marriage in our culture won 3rd
place, of 69 entries, in the Heritage
category, in the Ontario Community
Newspaper Association Premier
Awards Competition. The awards
banquet was held in Toronto on
April 7.
Above, Tom Wiiiscraft,
Publisher of The Expositor presents
Susan with her award.
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