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The Citizen, 2003-10-22, Page 32PAGE 32. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2003. AMDSB scrambles to identify deficiencies By Stew Slater Special to The Citizen Facing a deadline of Friday. Oct. 17. school board administrators serving rural Ontario scrambled last week to identify deficiencies in the education ministry’s calculations for using up the recently-announced $50 million Rural Education Strategy fund. And. according to Avon Maitland District School Board business superintendent Janet Baird-Jackson, those deficiencies — including a theoretical formula which suggests Blyth Public School and Hullett Public School are 400 metres apart, when the actual distance is 6.5 kilometres — are numerous. At a regular board meeting Tuesday. Oct. 14. Baird-Jackson told trustees the policy for distributing the fund, established by the recently- defeated Conservative government, is weighted heavily towards schools which are a greater distance from other schools, and less towards another perceived drawback of rural schools: that they’re often small in size. That means just two of the board’s 10 secondary schools — in Wingham and Listowel — currently qualify for Rural Education Strategy funding. When it comes to elementary schools. Baird-Jackson said her analysis of the fund made it clear that, in order to obtain funding for certain schools which are close to the distance threshold, an argument could be made for closing down neighbouring facilities. “The irony is that this grant was supposed to provide reasons to keep rural schools open but. in fact, it’s going to make boards consider the costs of keeping them open,” she said in an interview, following the meeting. Baird-Jackson’s initial comments, alone, were enough to anger GCPS sees changes As a result of the recent allocation word wall. One of the students of an additional half-time teacher to the Grey Central staff, some of the classes at the school have been reorganized. Mrs. Bowler will continue to teach both kindergarten classes. Mrs. Hemingway and Miss Hill will also continue with Grade 1 and Grade 1/2. Mrs. Smith will now have Grade 2 and Mrs. Taylor will have Grade 3. The Grade 4s have moved to a new classroom. Mrs. Sherry Bumfield is back as the afternoon Grade 4 teacher. Mr. Al Harrison is with Grade 4 in the morning until Mrs. Mitchell returns from maternity leave in January. Mrs. Murray is teaching Grade 5 . Miss Aarssen Grade 6, Miss Henry Grade 7 and Mr. Payne Grade 8. Mr. Garland is with the SCC classes. Mrs. Henry is special education resource teacher. Mrs. Colquhoun will be adding Grade 6 science and social studies to her French duties. Kindergarten classes have been learning the letter U and have been singing Uncle Upton. They have been spelling their names. They have also been learning about the changes in the fall. The Grade Is learned the letter B this week. They have been learning about fall. In math, they have been learning to add. This week. Mr. Perrie spent some of his many volunteer hours with students in the environmental learning grounds. In their classroom, members of Mrs. Smith’s class are learning to spell words that are posted on their Central/East Huron trustee Charles Smith, who added he has already made his opinion on the issue known in some area newspapers. “The way this money has been crammed into nooks and crannies in the existing (education funding) formula is pretty damn disappointing to a lot of communities that want to keep their schools,” Smith said. “With all due respect to my fellow trustees from Wingham and Listowel, gosh, not a bloody penny for Goderich or Mitchell or Exeter or St. Marys?” Further comments from Baird- Jackson, however, revealed the education ministry isn't even adequately calculating the factors which affect funding allocation. A preliminary assessment of what's coming to the Avon Maitland board — to which administrators had to respond by Oct. 17 — was received earlier this fall, and the distarfces between schools were only accurate, according to Baird-Jackson, in 10 of the board's 53 sites. The Blyth Public School and Hullett Public School figure is one example. “Obviously, because (the two schools) have the same postal code, (ministry officials) think they're in the same neighbourhood." Baird- Jackson told trustees. In another case, the closest school to the Grade 4-8 Arthur Meighen Public School in St. Marys is listed as St. Marys Central, which is a short walk across town. But St. Marys Central serves only kindergarten to Grade 3, and would be unsuitable for Arthur Meighen's students. Baird- Jackson says the true counterpart (and closest school) is South Perth Centennial, about five kilometres away. What’s the overall result? Baird- Jackson says that, as it stands, the board could receive considerably less than her original projection of $690,000 from the $50-million fund, even if the obvious distance errors are brought in a salamander to put in their terrarium. Grade 3s are working on addition and subtraction. In art. they are using construction and tissue paper to make fall trees. The Grade 4 class is doing data analysis graphing. In language, they have started a unit reading stories and non-fiction about exploring and observing. In social studies they have been learning about Canada. In art they are going to decorate a tree that Mrs. Bumfield brought in. Grade 5s have just completed presentations on Egypt and Rome. In art they are making apple trees. The Grade 7 class is learning soccer skills in gym and are starting volleyball. Grade 8s have just had a history quiz. In math they are doing perimeter. In science they are doing a unit on water systems. In the SCC class the primary classes are writing fairy tales. The Grade 6s are revising and editing. The Grade 7s and 8s have started measurement in math. Day off for BPS Students at Brussels Public School were sent home early on Oct. 14 after a watermain broke at the corner of Alexandra Street and Flora Street. Workers were busy fixing the problem, but were unsure how long it would take. The school decided students couldn’t be al school without running water and everyone was dismissed. Students were back to school Monday. corrected. A revised projection, provided to trustees for the meeting, suggested a total of $605,808. But she cautioned that one French­ language board, which was able to jump ahead of the Oct. 17 deadline and already had its re-assessment analyzed by the government, saw its total drop more dramatically than that. At the Oct. 14 meeting, the board’s representative on the Ontario Public School Boards Association (OPSBA), trustee Don Brillinger. relayed a strong sense of optimism which had Notice is hereby given to the Municipal Electors of the Municipality of Central Huron that since more candidates have been nominated to each of the following offices than the number required to fill such offices, therefore voting will take place at the time and place stated in this notice for the purpose of electing the holders of such offices. DEPUTY REEVE - (One (1) to be elected at large) COUNCILLOR EAST WARD - (Three (3) to be elected) AVON MAITLAND DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD East Central Trustee - (One (1) to be elected at large) REGULAR POLLING DAY - Monday November 10,2003 Voting will be held Monday, November 10, 2003, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the following locations: EAST WARD - (Formerly Ward 2 Township of Hullett and Ward 3 Town of Clinton) Central Huron Secondary School,"Gymnasium" 165 Princess Street, Clinton WEST WARD - (Formerly Ward 1 Township of Goderich) Holmesville Community Centre 180 Community Centre Line, Holmesville, ON ADVANCE VOTES SHALL BE HELD AS FOLLOWS: ADVANCE POLL #1 - East and West Wards - All Polls Saturday, November 1, 2003 between the hours of 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. ** Central Huron Municipal Office, 23 Albert Street, Clinton. ADVANCE POLL #2 Saturday, November 8, 2003 between the hours of 12:00 p.m.. to 5:00 p.m. ** East Ward Poll - Londesboro Community Hall, 282 King Street East, Londesboro, ON **• West Ward Poll - Holmesville Community Centre, 180 Community Centre Line, Holmesville, ON Please check the Voters’ List at the Municipal Office to ensure your name is included. Information re Qualification of Electors and Voting by Proxy is available at the office of the Municipal Clerk, 23 Albert Street, Clinton, Ontario, (519) 482-3997, any normal working day between the hours of 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. and also during the Advance Poll on Saturday, November 1, 2003 from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. been evident in the first OPSBA meeting following the Oct. 2 provincial election. Brillinger suggested OPSBA members are heartened by comments made by the newly-elected Liberals, regarding such things as implementing the Rozanski Report on education funding and repealing a tax credit for people using private schools. Asked by reporters if she shares this optimism, Baird-Jackson said she has been more interested in comments made by the Liberals about the state of the province’s financial affairs. Experts have been called in to see how much money is truly available, she noted, before expressing skepticism about the new government’s immediate ability to follow through on campaign promises. “In some respects, we’re kind of in limbo,” she said. “But I’m not confident that the ministry is going to look at a change of policy which might take some of the weighting away from the (Rural Education Strategy's) distance factor.”