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Home My WebLink AboutThe Huron Expositor, 1989-10-18, Page 4''S—1TkHErrittIRON :EXPOSITOR, iMt?TOBER 1B, 1t98 Before you buy Canada Savings Bonds -Compare the better alternative CANADA:SAVINGSQBONDS CANADIANSAVINGS:CERTIFICA ES %WO y1 1/2.0/0 •1nterest rate guaranteed one year •Cashable after 90 days •If cashed early, interest paid only to previous Month end. •Interest rate guaranteed one year Cashabie after .60 days •Cashable anytime and interest paid to day of cashing Partial surrenders available (eg. a 3,000 of $10,000 certificate) Remainder still earns interest. RASP'S IN OCTOBER? __ i h C I December With today's high interest rates, now may be the best time to purchase part or all of your RRSP's. Why wait till February when the rates may drop? t, ARE YOU 71 IN 1989? Today's RRIF and Annuity rates are very attractive as a result of today's higher interest rates Delaying your our case un i ecem er may not b b be in your est WHY SHOP FOR 'HIGHER'HIGHER RATES, g interests. We do it for you - everyday - across Canada. We shop the entire Canadian market on your behalf to ensure that you get the best rates available - andwe I do it all at no cost to you! GUARANTEED INVESTMENTS "With Your Best Interest in Mind" All Deposits Insured Within Limits - Rates Subject To verification B 1 YEAR " 1 ■ �8�3 YEAR 11�i 5 YEAR 1 % 90'T0 115 s ANNUAL 4 ANNUAL S. RRSP 6 DAYS Doug Elliott, B. Math 1717111120.1 investment & Tax;Planning Secure Investment: products .,, from people you can trust SEAFDIiT91 96' -Main St., 5270610 Servrngi7nLarro since 1976 with 15 rvcavons for yritn'r;arvenrerrce SIRLOIN TIP, RUMP, ROUND STEAK ROAST M9 LB:3 SIRLOIN STEAK LB. . STOREMADE .BACON PATTIES LB N 7 HINIDS.,DF BEEF CUT AND WRAPPED T-BONE :STEAK LB.42' 2 ROASTED PORK 1'•�AILS LB. ®09' LB.4 W 89 1 u c r space r j ar l k n EY 'NEIL CORBET`I' Finding apace rto educate 'students is currently .among 'education's major ;emblems. But "while "Huron County •,sehoois'have no vapidly'rishig enrollment, as laced :by 'metropolitan 'boards, -changes in 'education programming are creating 'stresses apace shortages. `Paul Carroll`superintendent of opera- tions for the 'Huron County 'Board of Education (HCBE), is in charge of fin- ding solutions to overcrowding. Carroll .says there are no overcrowding emergencies in the county now, but ad- mits there are definitely schools where there are 'stresses, and where students are not •being educated under optimum conditions. Individual special education classes are relatively new and often students in these programs, who are already -set apart from their peers by needing special attention, must take their lessons in hallways, cloakrooms, or other available places - wherever there is space. Some -schools lack proper libraries, in others audio video equipment blocks hallways, and specialty rooms which were once considered essential - music rooms, art rooms, and science labs... are now considered luxuries. -WHY A LACK OF SPACE? With parents expecting small classes and the provincial government legislating class :sizes down in lower grades, Hurn school buildings are able to handle fewer students. Increasing enrollment may also he a factor. Over the past three years enroll- ment has started to rise in Huron. Earlier 'there was a decline as trends moved toward smaller families and the ratio of children to adults was reduced. But enrollment has been coming back up in the '80's, primarily due to emmigration. Carroll expects increasing development in Huron will force this trend to • continue. "Aur schools would not be under pressure if it was still acceptable to put 40 children in a classroom. When I started teaching there were 42 to 45 children in a roam, but it's no longer ac- ceptable to parent taxpayers to have children educated in that environment," says Carroll, explaining another cause of space needs. 'The response to parent expectations is legislation that restricts classroom sizes to 50 per bent of what once was accep- table in Grades 1 and 2, and considerably smaller in all other grades. "It can't do anything but improve the quality of what's delivered," says Carroll of the smaller class size guidelines. But it does increase the demand for space. Special .education was legislated in 1980 so 'special needs in students could be met in a special way. Because this is a new program and it often involves a small portion of the school population, in many _schools finding. designated classroom :space for special ed. is a difficulty, New .equipment is also taking up space, you said I -were in school we 0`'inl11y180`ineh desk -space and that's -where -we' •our work. In today's classrooms where do we put computers, tape recorders, math learning kits and other subject learning kits? So as technology has changed you have another Prices in effect October 18 - 24, 1989 - While Supplies last - Sorry, No Rein Checks MEN'S 'HAMMILL MODELS 42011) & 11 INSUUTED COVEFA!;LL$ Small to _Large I ¢ RREIG. -69:96 111 OFF =REGULAR PRICE --4D-KgBAGS REG. -149445 f ,f .i:rA .� 'Seaturth ,,527fOZT.0 MINIMUM SPACE -Paul Carroll, superintendent of operations with The Huron County Board of Education, is facing the demand for more space in schools with additions built at minimal cost and with ministry funding, Corbett photo. burden on space." In addition to this, the provincia government is initiating new programs and subjects into the curriculum, lik French for younger grades, and th recently announced junior kindergarten In its Speech from the Throne this yea the government promised Idndergarte will be made available for three -yea olds, and senior kindergarten will b made full time. More .classroom spac will be needed for the tide o preschoolers who will be attending school and the space currently being used fo kindergarten will have to be doubled. Carroll also says people lobbying for better physical education programs or athletic facilities have a legitimate com- plaint with the facilities in many Huron schools. At most elementary schools in the system the gymnasiums are not regulation size for games such as volleyball and basketball. "But that isn't seen as a crisis," says Carroll. INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS Carroll acknowledges that the board is not able to keep up with the sudden changes in legislation or the changes in enrollment. "We're not planners, we're educators. I can't do more to deal with the enrollment bulge in Huron County. I'm not a municipal land development expert. But the HCBE has been dealing with space problem in a unique way it sees as _the -best solution. The most obvious solution is portable classrooms. ``Theeasiest:way for me.to getat.from the in' box on my desk to the out' box is to fill out an application for a portable," says Carroll, but collectively the board has decided to avoid the portable. These temporary classrooms have a life -span of only 10 years, can reach temperatures of 110 degrees in April and June, and remove children from the school so that they must outside to get to school facilities like washrooms, the library, and the gymnasium. •Instead, when a school requires .space and is eligible for a portable, the board applies to have the money the Ministry of Education would provide for the purchase of the portables used as partial funding for .the Construction of a permanent ad- dition to the school An example is Blyth P.ublic School, where there is currently ' no withrawal space for Special Education, and a classroom is being used as a library. "We said it's not good enough, what can we do'?" The school qualifies for funding for two portables under Ministry of Education guidelines. The HCBE applied for the funding, and will provide the same amount of space the structures would, but instead is building .a permanent ad- dition. To purchase and set up the two portables would cost $60,000. To provide an addition of equivalent space, 1,500 square feet, would cost $100,000, so the hoard must provide additional funding with local tax dollars. The building of this addition is under- way. It .will provide apace for a library, special education space, and storage facilities. In addition, the classroom cur- rently being used as a library will be free for its original use. "We're saying, :by spending $100,000 in- stead of 00,000, we have a 40 year solu- tion -.a permanent solution - instead of a 10 -year solution. Building projects of this nature are underway right now .at Brussels P.S., 'Belgrave :P.S., Turnberry P.S., and Wilton .P.S., where either classroom or library/special ed apace is being made available. At Exeter's South Huron 'District High.School a courtyard is being closed:in toprovide ,the :equivalent of five classroom ;spaces. `Tbis motif is being "done as an alter- native to adding 12 portable classrooms to ;the system. ECONOMICAL CONSTRUCTION The additions the board is building are nothing elaborate. The construction scene e in Blyth reveals a cement pad surround - e ed by concrete blocks, which will be covered by colored steel siding. Steel ✓ beams and prefabricated building n materials are being utilized. ✓ "Instead of $100 per square foot you're e doing it for $65 or less per square foot,' e says Carroll. "It's no longer appropriate f to look at the type of schools we used to have with fancy brick and laminated ✓ beams. I think the only thing we can do with schools in the 1990's is the same as they're doing with recreation facilities - you're not building palaces of glass and brick and mortar, you're building a func- tional, cost-efficient structure. I'm not saying be cheap, I'm saying be cost- efficient and get rid of the frills, because the tax base can't afford the frills." Next year five more schools are on the books for the type of construction going on at Blyth. The cost for this year's con- struction is approximately $750,000. OTHER ANSWERS? Some may suggest there are other solu- tions to space problems than building. For example, in some boards boundaries are changed so students are switched to schools where there is more room. Car- roll points out this is not feasible in Huron. An example is the Goderich public -schools;where -space—is -hemming—a valued commodity. Victoria P.S. is full but has a little flexibility. Robertson Memorial RS.:is.full. Where elo you.take children who' cannot be accommodated in Goderich?, asks Carroll. Holmesville and Colborne Central are full. Brookside P.S. already has three portables. Bayfield students are already bused to Huron Centennial P.S. in Brucefield. Clinton is the closest school with any flexibility. "Does it make sense to bus kids from Goderich to Clinton? I would contend it doesn't," maintains the superintendent. The other option is to bus Goderich students to Holmesville, and Holmesville students could be bused to the extra spaces in Clinton. "With considerable disruption." Only three of the 29 schools in the county have space to spare, and this in- cludes Stephen C.P.S. where there is not adequate library apace. QUESTIONS There are still questions to be answered concerning the whole issue of space in Huron County. How big do you let a school get before it becomes impersonal? More a plant than a school. "Maybe we need an extra school in Goderich. That's a good question. I don't know the answer. We should look at it and see if we have the kids." Options such as turning the full service school in Goderich, Victoria P.S., hack in- to a Kindergarten to Grade 8 school, in- stead of Kindergarten to Grade .6, ,are also being discussed. "Can you afford the luxury of having a French Room, Music Room, and Science Room?" asks Carroll. "Are we at the stage where we have to move the teachers to the kids, :instead of the -kids to the teachers?" Bruce Shaw, principal of Goderich District Collegiate Insititute, has been asked .to do a major study of space needs at his high school for a report to the board.. At a,.board meat' in the;not-too- distant future Carroll .will be making a recommendation that the board do studies .and planning, .and contract a specialized urban planner to predict 'enrollments in each of :the schools. 'So the hoard will know how many kids they will have, in what school five years.from now. "It's ;time to take a look et what we're doing or we're going to have ,a sea of :portables ,like the cities. 1 ;hope we've recognized it soon enough:" n$ r io progrg 1 A steering committee ;made lip of farmers, tthe 'onta io £seder tion of Agricllitive Atli Ontario 1Mi trW ,pf Agriculture d Wood .staff ;have r$gun ,a coin ve pxizgran ,'rexiilw 4 tthe'Qn- tario . RiiAte 1p `,lite �?�1R'iPBYiIlladl' Se B lithe 1 tl�anlh, �#' ,ive t Wer, $ttdlf ittle :.1. ell.NOW aln• en,toitieWr- ithe ,,pprrregrAin. 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