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The Exeter Times-Advocate, 1963-08-22, Page 2a ® DEDICATE GIDE 0 INI BIBLES AS A CONTINUING MEMORIAL C. - Ph, 235-940D or your local funeral ' e to ACED IN NOTEtS, SCPICIDLS aospmus. patsoNs. Products Of Dsneral Motors Frigid afire Sates with .$:ervice ,• Hardivaie.. " P.tiONe 11 HENSALL MANY AWARDS WE WOULD HAVE WON, ''F THEY GAVE OUT OSCARS FOR A JOB WELL DONE' 4V4••?ilL • cyl- r. III Health , See YOur.doctor first, Brine your prwription to MIDDLP-ON'$ DRUGS The school issuein Ha township YES NO Property owners in the Hay ToWnship School Area Will .go to the polls a week from Friday to approve or disapprove the board's plan. to coMplete centralization of school fa- cilities at :Zurich, Stripped of some of its legal wording, the :question to voters essentially is: "Are you in favor of an expenditure of $80,000 to cover the cost of an .addition of three classrooms and a combined gymnasium=auditorium to the school at Zurich?" The board's purpose has been clearly stated. The addition will give the Zurich. school nine classrooms ,and a gymtorium, sufficient to acconimodate all of the children in Hay Town- ship, Zurich village and a portion of Stephen, all iof which come under the jurisdiction of the board. The remaining one-room schools in sec- tions 2, 3, 10 and U15 will be closed and the children involved transported to Zurich, This ,consolidation at one township school will equalize the educational services provided to students, some of whom now have the ad, vantage of 'attending the partially graded school at Zurich over others who still are taught in the several one-room .schools still operating in the township, A nine-room school Should improve the services to all students, as well as putting them all on an equal level. The development will also equalize transportation services, which now are pro- vided to children in some sections and not to others. The trend toward consolidation at Zur- ich has been developing over a period of years during which some one-room schools have been closed and adjustments made to meet the changes effected by the establishment of a separate school at Zurich. Ray Fisher, 'chairman of the school area board, relates the addition to the fulfilment of a) a O>, cat:Do m 9), 4it ° O Q c.)'71 l?. 6 rn E' a c,- c%,E-.4 ° .$48 80d E ° ol --0 c" T: g ra,c, 0 CJ ,0°) " rD p 0 o 0 ;14 t `.5 ° V SO, 0 ,••• g =.2.l 'APt 0 1 :ge co V "ea. Q F, O cr, gzu- cV84-42 cu 4575 'A Et consolidation in the township, "We have the tree; all we need is the apple", he told a group of ratepayers recently. But the "apple" sought by the board is not sweet one in the eyes of some interested ratepayers, nor does the 'tree appear to be a healthy one to others. Controversy has result. ed, some of it based on fact, some of it on fric- tion. There has been as much variety as ve- henience to the opposition and both confuse the issues. Opponents are not united, nor are their objectives similar, The multitude of con- tentions requires special considerations, which result in this rather elaborate treatment of the issue. The Times-Advocate will attempt to deal fairly with the proposals made, in order to give voters a clear enough picture of the situation to make a well-considered decision, What are the issue's? After hearing several delegations, the township council refused the board's applica- tion for an $80,000 debenture issue, forcing the board to ask for a municipal referendum if it wished to proceed with its plans. Behind the council's decision appeared to be several fac- tors. One was that the councillors wished to have an expression of the people before grant- ing the funds, since there appeared to be at least some opposition; another that they felt there should be more consideration given to the alternatives available, 'and a third, that there was objection to investing township funds in another municipality, namely Zurich. The delegations, principally from the east end, objected to sending their 'children to Zurich. Some felt Hensall was their home com- munity 'and wanted their children to go to school there. Others, realizing that their costs would rise sharply by uniting with Hensall, even if this could be done, preferred a smaller east-end school to consolidation at Zurich. A new township school • buy a beautiful OrCal Diamond Insured free for one year Pleasing you pleases us. Agree on consolidation put up $140,000 for its school and, further, it would probably continue to be responsible for the remaining debenture debt on the two-class- room addition at Zurich. While the above calculations may be dis- puted, since they are only estimates, it is evi- dent that the investment made by Hay town- ship ratepayers in the Zurich school virtually would be lost if another building was erected. Further, the seven'-room school for Hay township would not provide fully graded edu- cation, or at least not the opportunities for specialization provided by a nine-room school, and Zurich students certainly, would suffer from a two-room operation. It cannot be denied that the assessment per classroom would increase if the township separated from the village but this would ap- pear to be offset by the fact that Zurich taxes contribute toward transportatilon colts even though Zurich Students do not require bus serv- ice. Transportation costs would be the same for a new township school a's for the Zurich school but the amount which Zurich property owners contribute toward this cost would be lost. If, as some people have suggested, Hay township should separate from Zurich for school 'purposes, what would be the result? The proposal has been that a completely new township 'school be erected outside the village limits, 'although near Zurich since it is geo- graphically in the centre of the township. Zur- ich, under this proposal, would operate its own school, presumably in the present building. Of the total enrolment of about 310 in the school area, some 240 come from Hay town- ship or the union sections in the township. This would require a seven classroom school, with a gymnasium- auditorium. At the estimated cost of $20,000 per classroom plus $20,000 for gymtorium, the in• vestment would be $160,000 compared to $80,- 000, or at least double the present proposal. Zurich, no doubt would be required to pay some amount for 'the present facilities, 'but con- sidering that the village would require only two of 'the six classrooms now provided and that the village already has some equity in the facilities, it is doubtful if any referee would assess the amount at more than $20,000. This would mean that Hav township would have to The heartening aspect of the controversy is that all participants agree on one important principle: the time has come to provide graded education for Hay township children, through consolidation of facilities. In other township areas, consolidation itself has been opposed; in Hay, it is the method which has been attack- ed. It 'is admirable that in this case all parties are seeking improvement of the services pro- vided for the children, Nevertheless, there may remain some doubt about the value of graded and consoli- dated education, which prompts a short re- view of its advantages. The foremost is the ob- vious benefit to both teacher and student through concentration of studies in a single, or limited number 'of, grades. Teachers naturally prefer the graded organization 'and it is an established fact that Union section with Hensall the consolidated school has less trouble secur- ing staff than does the area operating one-room schools. The problem of providing janitorial services, maintaining water supplies and toilet facilities in numerous schools throughout the area 'are eliminated by a well-serviced central building and there are many benefits in ad- ministration, including the important one of providing greater supervision over both the instruction and the students. That these benefits do result is evident in 'a recent pall taken among officials in rural areas who have adopted 'central schools. In every case, the 'officials reported consolidation was superior to the previous facilities, that both parents and children were happier, teachers were easier to secure, transportation had not proven to be a problem, and ratepayers were proud of the improvements. The objections to Zurich Several objections have been voiced to consolidation at Zurich which deserve special mention. One is that the playground area is in- adequate. This is true, The present land owned by the board will provide less than two acres, while the recommended area for 300 children is from three to four acres. However, this prob- lem can 'be offset by (1) staggered recesses, (2) purchase of vacant land adjacent to the school, and (3) the provision of a gymnasium which will permit a more extensive physical educa- tion program, particularly during the winter months. Another complaint concerns the old Zur- ich school, built 'around 1912, as the core of the consolidated facilities. While adding to an old- er section does create problems, these have been overcome successfully in 'such places as Exeter and Clinton. The criterion is whether or not the original building is structurally sound and there would appear to be no ques- tion in this regard about the facilities at Zur- follow, If Hensall area students were permitted to go to Hensall school, then why shouldn't the Exeter area students go to the town school, and those in the Dashwood district to Dash- wood, and those in the lakeshore area to Grand Bend? The question magnifies itself into almost insurmountable problems. Who would set the boundaries to indicate which students would go where? How many years would it take to establish the various union sections required and how would they be administered? Because they would form only minor parts of various school systems, Hay ratepayers would lose all control 'over their own education services,' For educational purposes, at least, the township as such would disintegrate. Further, if all 'the boundary areas of the township 'separated themselves from the core, this would leave the latter with a very limited operation. The welfare of the children in 'the centre of the township would be sacri- ficed. One of ;the original proposals of 'the op- ponents from the east end was to form a union school section with Hensall. This was based on the principle of sending the children to their nearest shopping, or community centre. If this were done, it would appear that the school costs for Hay township ratepayers 'affected would be close to double. The Hen- sail rate is about 20 mills, 'compared to the Hay rate of nine at the present time. In addition, 'legislation provides 'that the east end rate- payers, as former members of Hay township school area, would still be liable for a propor- tion of the remaining debt on'the two-room ad- dition 'at Zurich. Then comes the question of whether or not Hensall would find 'it advantageous to con- struct an addition to its school for the Hay students. But the ;telling point, and one that be- came evident at the ratepayers' meeting earlier this summer, is the ramifications which would ich. Indeed, Chairman Fisher predicts the older section of the schocil will outlast the two-room addition built about six years ago. The objection to Hay township rate- payers investing in a building in another muni- cipality seems to be one which involves more pride or prejudice than any other considera- tion. The jurisdiction over the school remains in Hay township's hands, which eliminates any question of loss of authority. There seem to be no really significant handicaps to this situa- tion. A prominent complaint from people in the east is that the Zurich location is incon- venient since 'their shopping and activity centre is in Hensall, or Exeter. But shopping facilities or evening pastimes are minor considerations, at best, in the location of a school. The McGil- livray school, for example, is not located in any municipality, nor will Lisborne's be, for that matter, Hundreds of similar situations could be pointed out and they have no bearing on the students' education. An east end school • Al New design • Al New performance • Al New paper handling system o Al New fingertip control panel • Ai New exclusive features o Ai New ruggedness • Al New decorator colors • Al New deluxe, high-fashion carrying case Plus famous Royal touch and full size difiCe keyboard Phone 235-1331, Exeter • .5vs4K6.34,-AWAM. One of the petitions from the east end requested the +board to consider the erection of 'a new school in the east end of the town-, ship, to avoid sending those children to Zurich. Since there are 86 children in school 'sections 2, 10 and 14, 'a three-room school would be required at an estimated cost of $60,000. From a financial standpoint, this would save $20,000 over the board's proposal but there are other considerations. The foremost is that neither of the two schools—the present one at Zurich and the new one in the 'east end—would have a fully graded system. The paramount benefit from consolida- tion would not be realized. Secondly, neither school would have a gymtorium which does provide benefits which Hay township ratepayers can 'afford to pre- vide. The gymtorium makes possible a thor- ough 'physical education program, particularly during the winter months. It also provides opportunities for assembly programs and group- ing of students for film showings, speakers, competitions .and other related activities, as well as a place where parents can be accom- modated for the presentation of school talent and 'achievement. Thirdly, the provision 'of two schools sets up a division in the township which can be detrimental. There are 'obvious advantages in providing similar facilities for all, to avoid any jealousies or discriminations, If there were real geographical prob- lems which would 'make consolidation at Zur- ich a handicap, the east end school would de- serve more consideration. But when there is a hard-surfaced, well-serviced highway leading di- rectly to the proposal central location, the es-, tablishment of two schools with their attendant duplication for administration, services and operation's does not appear feasible. Times Established lel Amalgamated 19/4 Advocate Established 1881 tzeferZitnes-Abuocute WE ARE STARTING iLL PLANTING Evertireens Conclusion SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND Member: 0.W.N.A., CX.N.R, and ABC September i ENROLMENT Total enrolment in Hay Township School Area, including Zurich 311 Enrolment from Hay township and Union sections in Hay 237 Enrolment from Zurich ....................•.,x.....74 Recommended number per classroom 35 Publithed Each Thursday Morning at Exeter, Ont. Authorized as Second Class Mail, Post Office Dos% Ottawa, and foe Payment of Postage in Cash Paid-in-Advance Circulation, Match 31, 1961-3,928 SUBSCRIPTION RATES:: Canada $4.00 Per Ye/4'1 USA 45,00 ASSESSMENT Total, in Hay Township School Area $2,896,839 Hay Township including Union sections {for public school{ purposes) . „ .. $2,430,665 Zurich (for public stliool purposes) $466,174 East end sections (Nos. 2, tO and 14) $699,490 CALL US FOP. niFoRMATION we 'will go to your residencE and advise you On your plant , log needs. REDER'S FLORIST PRONG a864603 Skt-Ttn DICZTAZ.2 ..'ilfgreZVAMWMEIZZLIMESZIAMWE:00215::a6•• The foregoing conSiderations admittedly have been presented frorn the standpoint of the board, but we believe the board essentially is the only group which has given the entire situation any reasonable study, There ate some disadvantages to the board's proposal, it is true, and some of the objections are legitimate. But it is significant that none of the opposing groups has presented A serious alternative and the attornatives "suggested have disadvantages worse by comparison, The final conclusion rests With the property owners on August 30, We trust the above conSidOrations will assist them in reach- Mg a verdict.