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“VOL. 15 NO. 27

“www.terracestandard:co

~ Wednesday, October 9,200

Gov't hit for school cash crunch

Trustees vote no

confidence in Libs

By JENNIFER LANG
COAST Mountains school trustees say
they don’t have confidence in the B.C.
Liberals’ ability to manage the public
education system,

The board issued a motion of non-
confidence in the provincial govern-
ment last week, saying the district’s
complaints about funding to rural
school districts have been ignored.

“The rural school districts are the
ones that are taking the biggest hits in
terms of enrolment and we’re not
being compensated,” said Kitimat
trustee Barry Pankhurst. “Our school
districts are suffering terribly.”

He said this school district faces a

m@ Get rolling

TERRY BROWN and Mark Forgie were zipping along the
Grand Trunk Pathway on roller skis Oct. 4. Both men are exci-
ted about the upcoming cross country skiing season because

$4-5 million deficit for the coming
school year, and another $3 million
deficit the year after that.

“It’s impossible to come up with
that money ~ absolutely impossible,”
Terrace trustee Hal Stedham said.

The district chopped $3.5 million to
balance its current budget by closing

- six schools, making class sizes larger

and laying off staff, causing
“ireparable damage”, Stedham said.

“The fact of the matter is, this
school district has been absolutely de-
vastated this year,” he added. “This
year we’ve cut to the bone — we’re
into the marrow.”

Hazelton trustee Peter Weeber
voted against the motion because he
felt it was tao confrontational.

He favours sending a delegation to

Victoria to explain that the district
faces special circumstances that are
compounded by economic uncertainty.

Although some trustees have openly
criticized the Liberals’ education poli-
cies, it’s the first time the board has
taken a formal step in protest.

“1 don’t think there is any member
of this board whe wouldn't be in favour
of this motion,” board chair Linda
Campbell said.

Coast Mountains officials say the
education ministry’s new budget for-
mula — which is simpler, more trans-
parent and based almost entirely on
student enrolment — unfairly penalizes
rural school districts.

Although, this district received a
buffer grant worth more than $400,000
to help soften the impact of the new

budget formula, that money will be
phased out.

Education Minister Christy Clark
recently told the Standard rural school
districts won't get
any more money.

She said eco-
nomic renewal is
the only way to
reverse declining
enralment in rural
communities.

Clark last week
appointed a rural j
education task
foree to study the
unique challenges
facing school districts outside of the
Lower Mainland over the next three
months.

Marj Brown

One of the budget restraint options
trustees are considering is moving to a
four-day school week, but they admit
that won’t generate the more than $4
million in cost savings needed.

“T have no idea where we are going
to get that money from,” acting board
chair Peter King said. ,

Terrace trustee Marj Brown said the
district has also been working with the
ministry. She said so far sympathy has
been offered but no concrete results.

“[ think it’s time to be honest and
we have to say, ‘We do not have
confidence,’” Brown said.

The board follows the lead of the
Coquitlam School Board, which pas-
sed a non-confidence motion Sept. 10,
lashing the education mininster in her
awn Coquitlam riding.

Games bid

they'll be able to ski at night, thanks to half a kilometre of lights
being installed at the Onion Lake ski trails. For details see
page B4, SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN PHOTO.

School improvement pledges
not empty promises — minister si jdent numbers

gains city
converts

--. By JEFF NAGEL
SOME city councillors are
Warming to the province’s
"2010 Winter’ Olympic bid. -

Councillors Val George
and Lynne Christiansen re-
turned from the Union of
B.C. Municipalities con-
vention in Whistler with a
tosier view of the Games.

“The premier pretty
well guaranteed to us we'll
get our fair share of return
from the Olympics,”
George said, “If it can be
guaranteed there will prob-
ably be pretty good support
across the province.”

Others didn’t share that
optimism. “Don’t step in
that with your good shoe,”
cautioned David Hull.

George said the mes-
sage has been drilled into
premier Gordon Campbell
that benefits’ of the Olym-
pics must be spread fairly
through the province:

He said the mood of the
UBCM convention shifted
when Campbell pledged
the cost of upgrading the

road to Whistler wili be
$600 million, -. about a
third of some estimates, .

“That mollified a: lot of
the critics out ' there,” he
said, adding the media has
spread inflated estimates
of Olympic costs.

Christiansen ‘said she
doubts the value of stren-
uously opposing the Olym-
pic bid. “There could be
some real benefit to us,”
she said. “What we need
to do is to be there to
make sure we get our
share.”

Mayor Jack Talstra has
said he would be prepared
to support the bid if Ter-
race gets more provincial
money to help build a
multiplex here and im-
prove roads in the region,

Talstra, Christiansen
and George — who isn’t
running again — were the
only ‘council members to
attend UBCM this year.
The city trimmed its travel
budget, sending fewer
councillors than usual.

By JENNIFER LANG
EDUCATION MINISTER Christy
Clark says school districts will
have to show they’re making good

on their promises to do a better

job.

Clark told the Terrace Stan-
dard her ministry will be watching
school districts to see if they hon-
our accountability contracts, a
mandalory document each district
must provide outlining their edu-
cational goals for the public.

Last year, schoo! district 82
promised to improve student liter-
acy and arithmetic skills by five
per cent over the next five years.

It also pledged to improve gra-
duation rates and student social
responsibility.

The contracts, which are not

legal contracts but rather a public
commitment to improving student
achievement, are to be updated
on an ongoing basis, Clark said.

She has given districts until
Oct. 31 to submit revised account-
ability contracts for this year.

The ministry will monitor
school districts to see how well
they meet the goals they establish
far themselves.

For example, districts that pro-
mise to improve how well stu-
dents read will be expected to de-
monstrate they've made some
progress, she said.

While the contracts are man-

datory, it’s unclear if districts will -

be penalized by the ministry for

- failing to meet their goals.
“We're not signing off on

them,” Clark said.

“They carry a lot of weight.
Those are the benchmarks dis-
tricts are expected to meet. We
will be monitoring them.”

She offered few details on how
that would be accomplished.

Test results inside
@m How our students
stack up in annual skills
snapshot. A5

But Clark did reveal the mini-.

stry will use the Foundation Skills
Assessment to determine if school
districts are making improve-
ments. The FSA is the ministry's

own province-wide snapshot of
reading, writing and numeracy.
skills in Grades 4, 7 and 10.

Next year, districts must sub-.
mit accountability contracts based
on individual school plans deve~
loped by school planning councils.

“The accountability contract is
the glue — it’s connected to school
planning councils and school,

growth. plans,” Coast Mountains .

superintendent Randy. Small-
brugge said. “It’s something we
hang our hats on and say, this is
what we all work towards — stu-
dent achievement.”

School district officials will be.
review and fevise the account- -

ability contract over the next few
weeks before submitting it,
They expect few changes

Candidates slow to jump into election race

FEW candidates are coming forward to run for

‘office in November's local elections.
Prospective candidates still have until 4

p.m. Friday, Oct. 11 to throw their hat in the

‘cer Elaine Johnson.

No one filed to run for school trustee in. Ter-
race.or Kitimat last week, said returning offi-.

Lorrie Gowen is running for school trustee

on the Kitimat-Stikine regional district board.
Les Watmough is running again. for-Thor=
hill (area EB) director: Bob: Cooper’ is ‘seeking
re-election as area C director, which serves -

may be stabilizing -

SCHOOL enrolment is up slightly since the start of the
“school year. -.
A final tally iaken Sept. 30 has helped push the. num-
ber of students in the Coast Mountains school district to
_ 6,611, up four students from the first week of class.

The district has about 80 fewer students since the end
of June, says Rob Greenwood, director of instruction,

His.curreat tally shows the district's enrolment has
dropped by 420'students over the past:year, he added.

He cautioned the numbers only show the number of
students‘ who are enrolled in the district. ‘They. falt to re-
flect the number of people who have
maved into the district -. or left It,

‘ Enrolment also’ doesn’t explain why
‘students have dropped out.

Greenwood said ‘his ‘priority’.this.
winter will be to track those students
who have left the school system but

are still living in the district.

He wants to find: out: why they're
leaving school using exit'surveys that
may jefe dletrict find. other: ways
to reach those students,”

With a final count for'thé ciirrent Greenwood
“schoot-year in place, ‘Greenwood ‘sald: the district has
now hired staff who had been in Imbo.

in Thornhill, Les Deacon-Rogers is seeking re-
City councillor Marylin Dayies was the first election as schoo] trustee in Stewart. Hazelton
council candidate to'file nomination papers... incumbent Pieter Weeber is also running
No others had filed by last’ Friday, although ~ again; ‘but, is being challenged by . Jessica Mi-
councillor: Lynne: Christiansen and-itew chal th cayk
a

~The district purposely held off from filling a 5 handful
of teaching. positions at the start of the year in case stu-
dent numbers were lower than.expected, : |
bout 30 teaching. positions fav
“the: district as'a result ‘of school ‘closures and other cost-
saving measures in order to balance the current budget.

ring. Lakelse Lake, Kitamaat Village and north
Terrace.
---Incumbents Dave: Brocklebank, af Tele
: graph Creek, and Fred Roisum, of pio:
Nalley are running again.for areas:

Election day ig Nov. 16,

lenger Allan Mcintyre have said they. will run. itliar faces are. running for seats