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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1986-10-29, Page 21Elementary is short-changed Want shoo/ systems equlftble The poster shows the photograph of a young boy. A question above it reads "The underfunding of Elemen- tary Education WHY?" Below the picture another question asks, "Why am 1 worth $879 less?" Why is the elementary aged pupil worth less than the high school stu- dent? Why do financial inadequacies exist in the government funding struc- ture for Ontario schools? When is the provincial government going to take steps to rectify the situation? These are questions being posed by members of the Ontario Public School Teachers' Federation (OPSTF) and these are the main issues being discussed by first vice president Dave Kendall' as he makes his rounds throughout the province. Kendall was in Huron County last week to visit area schools, and to meet with local members of the • teaching federation. His stop in the Huron County was one of many visits he makes through Ontario each year, visiting more than 74 various districts in the province. These tours offer Kendall the oppor- tunity to meet with teachers, to see classrooms in operation and to discuss the main issue of concern for his organization - underfunding of elementary education. Underfunding is not a new issue. From 1970 to 1985 the gap between spending ceilings for elementary and secondary pupils has increased from $500 to $879. An OPSTF brief suggests that if this current rate of increase is allowed to continue, the gap between the ceilings will reach more than DISPLAY IN LIBRARY — Standing in front of their Block Parent display in the Grand Bend library are parents Jeanette Stellingwerff, and Suzy Turnbull on the right. The two are showing students Jeremy Jennison and Christine Went where to place their lifesaver emergen- cy tags. Grand Bend legion very busy spot is a There were 22 out for darts at the Grand Bend Legion last Tuesday evening. Vern Gallant and Shirley Pole won first place, with Frank Allen and Norma Baird getting second. Mary Kait won the 50/50 draw. Another steaks/chops meat raffle Was held on Friday afternoon with Frank Allen winning twice, plus Grace Lautenschlager, Marion Shaw, -Randy Thompson and the door prize going to Anne Johns. At the Friday night euchre party, Gord Martindale was high man and Joe Murouskas got low. The 50/50 draw was split between Shirley Page and Joe Murouskas. On Saturday afternoon, folks lined up to watch another pool game, with Gordon Martindale winning first place. He's been taking lessons from Betty the Hustler, so Vern Fisher has signed up for some lessons with her next week! In coming events, there will be a Hallowe'en dance on November 1 at the Legion from 9-1 a.m., with tickets available at the Barefoot Pedlar or the Legion for $5.00 per person. Come in costume for food and prizes, and swing to the music. Attention members, there will be a General Meeting at the Legion on Monday, November 3. Please try to attend. United Church Members and friends of the Grand Bend United Church were greeted Sunday by Mrs, Dianne Rice and Mr. Norman Wilkie. Morley and Millie Desjardine were ushers; Fred Willert read the scriptures taken from 11 Kings 23 and I Peter 2. Mr. Willer( also told the chiklren's story, which pointed out the need of loving one another as Christ commanded. The choir sang "in Christ there is no East or West," under the leadership of Irene Kennedy. The topic of Rev. Peebles sermon was "Reformation". The word refor- mation means a radical change for the better, as in religious matters; and in the action of amending.. im- proving or correcting one's own morals or conduct.. The religious movement of Joshua's day in ii Kings 23, and also in Martin Luther's time of the 16th century, had the above in mind. in both instances the reformation started in the hearts of men and in the house of the Lord. You can have refor- mation without revival but you can't have a revival without reformation. That spirit of reformation is needed today. to have God's word as the stan- dard to believe it and to live by it. Church of God Sunday school convened as usual at 10 a.m. at the Church of God, Grand Bend, with the morning worship following at 11 a.m. and the evening service at 7 p.m. Mrs. Lucille Vincent led the singing in the morning service, while Alec Desjardine led in the even- ing one. This was the last Sunday for Pastor Barnhart and his wife, Cecile, here at Grand Bend with the church family. Rev. Barnhart 's message was bas- ed on several scriptural passages, where Jesus prays for Believer's uni- ty. Jesus has gone to the Cross to pay for all, and they shoudl accept this gift by taking Jesus. into their hearts as Lord and Saviour. They must choose' to serve the Lord. In the evening service, Rev. Bar- nhart discussed the external example of the annual blood sacrifice by the Uld 'Testament high priests. When Jesus Christ shed His blood, everyone who believed was and is changed on the inside, given a new nature. Com- munion was offered to the congrega- tion, depicting the body and blood of Christ. Rev.- Barnhart asked each member to hold both sacred elements and to pray silently for guidance. The service closed with the hymn "I Gave My Life For Thee". Afterwards everyone joined with Pastor and Mrs. Barnhart in the church basement for an hour of fellowship. The couple was presented with a farewell gift from three of the church trustees. Then everyone en- joyed a tasty lunch. The sympathy of the church fami- ly is extended to Donna and Glenn Thiel on the passing of her father, Rufus Turnbull. The church family asks God to be with Pastor and Mrs. Barnhart, as they leave Grand Bend for their duties at a new Church of God in Blyth. Pastor Simpson, formerly of Grand Cove Estates, will be welcomed as guest speaker to the Church next Sun- day, November 2 for all services. Catholic news Father Robert Morrissey celebrated all of the weekend masses at Immaculate Heart of Mary. Billy Spindler was the reader for the scrip- tures, and John Kelders and Don Ternes were lay communion distributors. Choir director Lydia Duchou was cantor, and led the choir in "Come back to Me" at Communion time. Father Morrissey based his sermon on the gospel tale of the pharisee and the tax collector, praying in the tem- ple. the pharisee was so proud and complacent there was no room for im- provement in his heart. Do you ever feel superior to others, because of wealth, looks, strength, talent or in- telligence? These are all gifts from God, which He requires us to use to help others, not advance ourselves. We must acknowledge, as did the tax collector, that we are all sinners, and have weaknesses; then we can accept His mercy and grow in His love. Congratulations to Alicia Ricki-Lee Vandergunst, daughter of Derrick and Betty (Rasenberg► Vandergunst, who was received into Catholic Com- munity through Baptism. Next Sunday will be the Feast Day of All Souls, beginning the month of November as the traditional time to pray for the departed souls of relatives and friends. Three membesr of the Grand Bend Catholic Women's League attended the 65th Anniversary Mass and dinner at Our Lady of Mount Carmel on Sun- day. Mount Carmel pastor Father Goyeau spoke to the ladies on this special day, and the crowd filled the church. and later, the gym, to share 65 years of memories with older members and CWL executives. About town Community sympathy is expressed to the family of the late Rufus Turn - hull, who passed away last week. Golden Aigers are reminded that their meeting, regularly held on the first Wednesday of every month, will be postponed until Nov. 12, due to the turkey supper being held Nov. 5 at the United Church. Remember to get your tickets - they are going fast Cameron and Joyce Beam of Lon- don visited an afternoon last week with Lorne and Loreen Devine, Grand Bend. $1,000 by 1989. Kendall explained that the cost dif- ferences between elementary and secondary schools were established some years ago. At that time larger salaries were paid to high school teachers because they required higher teaching qualifications. As well, operational and program costs for secondary schools were set at a higher rate than that of elementary schools. Since then the scenerio has significantly changed. Today not on- ly secondary school teaching qualifications demand university education, but elementary teachers must also have bachelor of arts degrees. Along with the changes in qualifications for elementary teachers, school buildings have developed from small one room facilities to large, modern, more com- plex institutions. Thus, the funding differences that were established in the 1970s are invalid in the 1980s. A comprehensive brief put together by the OPSTF explains, "The nature and average size of elementary schools have also dramatically changed over the last 10 to 15 years. The consolidation and growth of elementary schools, which began dur- ing the 1970s, included the building of libraries, gymnasiums, music rooms, French as a Second Language rooms, kindergarten rooms and special education facilities. It is recognized that the building of the physical facilities came out of capital alloca- tion, but the maintenance support and administration costs must be borne through the per pupil grant. These larger school units also required in- creased services, such as secretarial assistance, custodial support and sup- plies to carry out their programs. As well, with the implementation of the reorganization of school into county and designated city boards, school board bureaucracies and centralized services expanded, requiring much greater expenditure at the elemen- tary level." A survey of per pupil expenditures has shown that in 73 percent of the cases, the elementary board spent a larger amount of money on instruc- tional costs, than did secondary boards. In Huron County, for example, a 1984 survey shows that elementary per pupil costs took up 90.8 percent of the cost of operation, while at the secbndary level the figure amounted to 86.5 percent. Operational and maintenance costs amounted to 8.7 percent at the elementary level and 11.5 percent at the high school level for a difference of -2.8 percent. - "Clearly," the OPSTF brief noted, "elementary boards have, in relative ternis, as great or greater costs than their secondary counthrparts. The problem is that elementary boards are struggling from.a lower base for expenditures." In 1985 financial statistics from Huron County saw the per pupil ceil- ing set at $2,448.37 and the per pupil expenditure at $2,599.75. Like 97,per- cent of the other public elementary boards in Ontario, the Huron Board of Education operated over ceiling. Kendall further noted that equip- ment and program costs at elemen- tary schools have risen at such a rapid rate that many schools are look- ing to raising additional money by holding their own fund raising drives. "We surveyed 1,600 schools and 96 percent of them raised funds," Ken- dall reported. "However, it is really the board of education's responsibility ' to provide the funds, to buy the equipment." He said that costs for basic educa- tional tools and equipment has risen dramatically in the 1980s. "For library books, the cost in- creases over the past few years have raised by hundreds of percents. A primary textbook can cost tip to $30 and in most cases the libraries suffer because there's not enough money to go round." In its plea to the government for ad: ditional funding, the OPSTF has stressed that elementary costs should not be dismissed as less important than that of the secondary counterpart. Kendall said, "The elementary school is where children receive their early learning." Laurier.LaPierre in a 1977 report prepared for OPSTF further reported, "I am of the opinion that the allocation for young children should be equal to the subsidy provided for high school students. I see no valid reason at alt why it should be lower. In fact, in many instances it should be more. The young years of a child's life are those which prepare him for the fullness of his life. Our resources should be placed there in a degree greater than elsewhere." Kendall says that the OPSTF has made this is§ue a top priority item and the federation has worked diligently to present its case to the provincial government. The group has drafted a 23 page brief, members have lobbied at Queen's Park and district boards of education have been asked to endorse the OPSTF position. Kendall said that the OPSTF has received strong support from school districts across the province and local boards are moving to endorse the re- quest for more funding. As well, a survey taken two years ago showed that a large majority of the general public supported the need for better elementary education and additional money to help fund the programs. "I sense we're going to win," Mr. Kendall enthused. He said that the government is well aware of the situation and he believes that the political wheels are slowly starting to turn. "We're asking the government to raise funds for a period over three years. It will cost over $600 million." Kendall admitted that coming up with the additional money will be a tough chore, but he emphasized, "the government must decide where the priorities are." In the meantime, the OPSTF will continue its crusade. Mr. Kendall noted, "We're going to spend more time with parent groups and other organizations. We're going to totally bombard the political system with let- ters, telephone calls, resolutions, meetings. It's a matter of building and maintaining the pressure." Times -Advocate, October 29, 1986 FILM AUDITIONS — Producers from Vulcan Productions in Toronto were at Bell Aerospace in Grand Bend Thursday auditioning for a film to be shot in the area in November. Line producers Gillian Richardson and Richard Flower check leg measurements of aspiring actress Sandy Girden. T -A photo Still seek actors Any area young men wishing to audition for spots in the pilot TV show which will be shot at the former air force base at Grand Bend next week still have a chance to register. Gillian Richardson, a line producer with Vulcan Productions will be at Bell Aerospace this weekend and will welcome calls from young men bet- ween the ages of 18 and 20 to fill the roles of flight cadets in the film. Ms. Richardson will be at her firm's offices in the Bell Aerospace building Saturday and Sunday and will welcome calls from young men with time available for the first three or fours days of next week. • She told the T -A Monday afternoon, "Some of my people are at Grand Bend today and I expect all spots will be filled except for a few cadets." The positions for, girls to play parachutists, and parachute packers and males for mechanics and drill sergeants have already been filled. The proposed television series will be about air cadets learning to fly and if successful will likely be shown on Global TV. For those wishing to contact Gillian Richardson for more information on the positions for male cadets still open please call 238-5833 between the hours of 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. r - See us first for CONSTRUCTION & REPAIR OF WINDOW SASH plus we have a GOOD STOCK OF GLASS CALL: CARRIAGE HOUSE WOODWORKING at 348-9565 47 Blanshard St. Mitchell i FLOORING if you're looking for carpet or vinyl for a small area or an entire house Do it yourself or hove our installer Ed Allen do it for ou 355 Main St., S., Exeter 235-1990 SUPER VALUES IN PERSONAL STATIONERY - IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS GIVING - AVON VELLUM T3325 100 Single Shrers (5.3/8" x 7-3/4") 5(1 Matching Envelopes REG. 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