The Lucknow Sentinel, 1978-01-25, Page 9WEDNRSDATI ANN ART .25,,1978
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el-inin
problems.
THE- LUCKNOW SL NTINRl, ,14U NOW, ONTARIO
Lloyd Ackert of Holyrood,
trustee for Lucknow,.
Teeswater and the townships
of Kinloss and Culross, was
elected Chairman of the
Bruce - County , Board of
Education last week. ft
The following is his
inaugural address he made to
the board.
"Right now I feel somewhat
the same as on the day I got
married. In. the morning
was a carefree and naive
person. In the afternoon after
a brief ceremony • I. ' found'
myself responsiblefor a
whole new soccer game..
"This afternoon, after
LLOYD ACKERT'
another brief ceremony here
I am in another soccer game,
only worse. I feel like an
understudy filling in after a
great performance. In three
years on this board we have
seen Alan Dent, Tom Lam-
bert and. Cameron McAuley
give decisive and skillful
.leadership, and those are
tough acts to follow.
"However I could not ask
for a ' more stimulating
challenge than to be chair-
man of the Bruce'. County
Board of Education in 1978.
Thank you for granting me
this honour 'and opportunity.
The only real way to thank
you is to give the leadership
you have come to expect of
your chairmen.
"As ' we look at the year
ahead we see a number of
problems, not only the usual
day to day unexpected
problems, but the . new
problems of °declining
enrolments and restricted
government grants. However
I believe we should see the
year in perspective. Each
year. has its problems.
Education is .a continuing
process, • on the one hand quite
constant. in. Usti goals, but on
the other hand • always
evolving and changing to
hopefully, keep ..up with the
„needs ,of:.: a, constantly
changing society,
"1 think it is wise thiszyear.
and every year, to continue a
low key profile , in order to
operate this, ; board as ef-
ficiently as possible. We must
be prepared, however, ii . the
approaching financial°
weather, to be"flexi`ble in our
decisions because the new
problems facing us may
• demand periodic adjustments°
in our methods of operations.
"We shall now comment on
what has come to be the
major topic in provincial
' educational affairs, that of
declining enrolments and.
restricted government
grants.
"Looking generally -across
the country it is true that
enroirnents°ue declining and
will continue to decline for
years to come, It is true that
the provincial government is
restricting the growth of
grants. It is also true that
costs. continue to rise 'due, to
inflation.
"Any farmer or any
businessman its well aware of
what happens when his in-
come decreases while costs
continue to soar; he must
make drastic adjustments
and he may very well go
bankrupt.
"As a school board we too
can make adjustments but we
cannot declare bankruptcy
and go out of business. By law
we have to continue to
provide . education for • the
young. The challenge for this
'board, and all boards across
Canada, is to Face declining
`enroFment and restricted
income with determination
and imagination. ' •
"We must provide quality
education and we must
protect the taxpayers. We
will probably' have to . com-
promise. We cannot provide
education at a level which
totally disregards the ability
of the taxpayers to pay, but
we cannot protect the • tax-
payer at the expense of
shortchanging the future
generation of our society.
There must be a middle road
and compromise. Our
challenge is to maintain an
acceptable quality of
education forthe future at an
acceptable , cost in' the
prepent.
"This rneans taxpayers will
have to dig deeper. This
means school administrators
will have to trim services.
This means teachers will
have- toface the realities of
. financial limitations. This
ineans compromises by all
and this means this school
board has to act with wisdom,
with discretion and/ with
toughness.
"May ' I now , direct your
attention to an area -that also
requires some priority for
this coming year. I refer to
the need for a review. and
evaluation of all the -board's
written policies. Because of
provincial legislation, county
schol boards are required to
provide educational facilities
and instruction.' It° is.
staggering to consider the
implication of this legislation
for trustees. School trustees,
are the only persons in our
society ordered by law to
develop the attitudes and
skills of each new generation.
Each of .us on this board has
been'e`ntrusted, by the citizens
.we represent to carry out this
legal mandate, to' develop the
attitudes- and skills of their
children:
``Now,, under this system
trustees , hire professional
educators to do the job, -the
day by day administration of
the education system: And I
'must say we have some of the
-best administrators in
Ontario working for us right
here in. Bruce County. But as
.trustees it is ultimately our
duty to make sure this system
is working to the maximum
benefit of our children. The
• county system has been in
effect for eight and one half
years. Much of that time has
been spent in developing what
We believe is an effective
system with effective
policies.
"But, we have entered a
new Chapter in the 'affairs of
education fp Ontario, We
have gone from school
population growth to decline;
we have gone from easy
government spending to rigid
financial restraint; we are
going from an anti-inflation
board regulated economy to
what. most certainly • will be'
renewed inflationary
pressures; and in ' Bruce
County we have the added
problem of new unknown
growth potential connected
with Douglas Point.
"So, if we are entering a
new .-chapter in educational
challenge, I, suggest this year
should be one of evaluation
and planning.
"We can onty/build for the
future if our present foun-
dation's are strong We must
review and evaluate what we
have done and what we are
doing. As. experienced
trustees,, we all know `how the
week by week duties and
unexpectedproblems tend to
keep us busy. But if we are to
meet the.. challenges of the
new chapter, of the ap-
proaching facts of ' life in
PAGE NIN
ants
education we must this year
find' time to evaluate our
progress, to examine our
methods, and to scout out
possible pathways to the
future . °
"Ladies and, gentlemen, I
am proud to, be chairman of
this board. There is not one of
you who is not dedicated to
your task 'and"desirous of our
common goals. I look forward
to working with you and our
inistration in 1978."
Soil erosion - we should be concerned
All lands are subject to erosion
caused 'either by wind or water,
and everyone should be concern-
ed about this, according to Dr.
Charles Baldwin. of Ridgetown
College of Agricultural Technol-
ogy.
Erosion also is caused' ,by the
farmer who works the land to the
edge of the roadside, uses large,
arid' powerful equipment, cleans
out every fenceline and hedge-
row, and cuts down and plows up
every possible bush are and
swamp. '
In many cases, fencerows,
swamps, and bushlots provided
natural buffer zones which elimi
nate or reduce; wind and wat
4 .
erosion.
Soil covering roadways and
filling roadside. ditches may be
caused by erosion, and cleaning
them is done usually at public
expense. So we all- suffer at tax
time. -
Farmers suffer when. topsoil is
blown or washed away. This is a
problem of growing "importance,
Dr: Baldwin , points out, since
worthwhile topsoil in most high.
production farming areas is only
six or eight inches deep..
"You cannot improve your
topsoil by mixing it with; subsoil
through :the use of a powerful
equipment. You only ruin the
topsoil you have °"
To solve the problem, we must
recognize and admit we have the
problem. Then, individuals
should consider what can be done
differently so that soil can be left
in better condition. Each farmer
should drive around his own
area, particularly his own farm, to
decide what to do - to stop or
reduce sandstorms and the gully-
ing actions of water.
"Leave headlands and buffer
strips along roadsides. Don't
overtill the soil. Don't work the
land too 'early or too late, just
because you have the powerful,
equipment and spare time.'
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