BRITISH COLUMBIA Rallies planned to fight cuts Continued from page 1 Tallies and protests, and attending board Meetings urging trsutees to take a strong ‘Stand against the ministry’s cuts. Increasingly, parents are urging their boards to take the lead set by Vancouver and Victoria trustees, and hand the ministry a “needs” or “maintenance” budget instead Hearings urged on rate increase The B.C. Utilities Commission (BCUC) should ensure that a public hearing is held on the application by B.C. Hydro for a 6.5 per cent increase in rates and should move quickly to set a date and time for such a hearing, B.C. Communist Party leader Mau- rice Rush urged in a letter to the commission last week. Rush fired the letter off to the BCUC after receiving a note from commission secretary A.C. Michel- son, which acknowledged receipt of the party’s brief in opposition to the increase but made no mention ofa - public hearing. “Your letter to me gives no indica- tion that a public hearing on the pre- vious interim increase or the latest - application has been agreed upon,” Rush said. He added that Michelson’s letter only stated that “determination of a suitable course of action will be announced in the near future.” A public hearing is of particular importance, first because the BCUC granted B.C. Hydro an interim increase of 6.5 per cent last April without a hearing and, second, because there has been wide opposi- tion to the latest application fora rate hike. “We belive that the failure again to call a public hearing. . .would be con- trary to the public interest and viola- tion of the public trust by your commission,” Rush stated. Since the B.C. Hydro application asks that the second increase come into effect Apr. 1, 1985, little time temains for a public hearing and for the commission to weigh the submis- Sions,”’ he added. “I would therefore Suggest that the B.C. Utilities Com- Mission waste no further time: in announcing the date for a public | hearing.” of following Victoria’s diktat and imposing cuts. Trustees currently face two deadlines: Feb. 15 is the date for the six-month interim budget covering Jan. 1 through June, 1985; Mar. 15 is the deadline for the ’85-’86 school year. The Victoria school board, with the back- ing of local parents, plans to hand Educa- tion Minister Jack Heinrich a “needs” budget — one based on 1983 funding levels — for the July to June ’86 period. Vancouver trustees, meanwhile, have voted unanimously for a budget based on 1984 figures, with a three-per cent cost-of- living factor. Parents’ ire was really raised with Hein- rich’s rejection last year of the “Burns Plan,” named after a Courtenay school board official who devised a means whereby the board could avoid layoffs and cuts in early 1985, while paying teachers a three-per cent wage hike, with- out requiring any extra money from the ministry. Courtenay trustees, who face laying off 18 teachers in February and a further 22 in July, sent a letter explaining the situation to the parents of the district’s 7,000 school children. “The parents’ response was positive as hell in favor of the board’s plan,” said trus- tee Wayne Bradley, adding that more than 50 per cent of the parents — some 2,000 — wrote letters to the board in response. One of the more positive aspects of the parent support for the board is the refusal to blame teachers and support staff for fund- ing shortfalls, said fellow trustee Clayton Bagwell. “Parents have not been side-tracked by the so-called ‘wage’ issue,” said Bagwell, noting that the board has already been forced to lay off 35 teachers. Instead, they target the restraint pro- gram, said Bradley, who along with Bagwell has children of his own in the school system. In Vancouver, the possible closure of seven schools if the ministry’s budget cuts go ahead has parents up in arms. The VSB, with.a five-seat majority held by the labor- backed Committee of Progressive Electors, has been informing parents what effect Socred financial shortfalls will have on Vancouver’s schools. Fully 1,000 people or 20 per cent of the board’ employees will have been axed by the end of 1986 if the ministry’s plans go CHRIS TAULU JOIN THE GREAT With GLOBE TOURS For any of your travel needs big or small. Let Globe Tours find the best way for you. Specializing in tours to the USSR GLOBE TOURS 2679E. Hastings St., Vancouver, B.C. V5K 125 253-1221 through, warned board chairman Pauline Weinstein. “The implications are critical to say the least, and they’re already showing,” said Weinstein, whose board sent full details of the cutbacks as these effect each school to all schools in the Vancouver system Friday. In North Vancouver Jan. 8 a majority of trustees voted to ask the education ministry to maintain 1984 levels in the ’85-’86 fiscal years, following a presentation by the North Vancouver Teachers Association. The dis- trict faces laying off 50 teachers that year. Up in Terrace, representatives of the north coast zone school boards met and agreed to ask other boards in B.C. to con- vene an “emergency meeting” on the effects of the cutbacks, Jan. 11. The Victoria school board raised Hein- rich’s ire with a full-page ad in the Times- Colonist Dec. 30 that detailed the effects of the ministry’s financial axe on Victoria’s schools. Socred credibility was further under- mined Jan. 6 following the release of the results of a survey carried out by the Van- couver Elementary School Administrators Association. It found that morale in Van- couver schools was.at an all-time low. Association president Andy Talmanis noted the membership, consisting of princi- pals. vice-principals and school annex heads, “is a pretty conservative bunch. We are not the wild-eyed radicals.” The subsequent report by the association stated, “We believe that the provincial res- traint program places our ability to deliver essential educational services to students in jeopardy.” The cutbacks have not only caused par- ents to organize. They’ve also drawn together teachers, trustees and parents in a series of planned actions and workshops designed: to counter the “restraint” BO: gram. The Comox Valley Parent Assoication has called a public meeting on Jan. 19 in Courtenay. Among the items on the agenda will be a “needs” budget for the Courtenay board and a plan to initiate a province-wide telephone campaign, with each district responsible for a days worth of steady calls to the premier’s office. That same day parents, teachers and trus- tees from the Lower Mainland and beyond will gather at the Sheraton Plaza 500 hotel in Vancouver for a day’s discussions and decisions on how to fight Victoria’s cut- backs. Again on Vancouver Island, the Tally Ho Inn in Nanaimo is the scene Jan. 26 for parents, teachers and trustees from the island’s 13 districts to plan cutbacks- fighting tactics. And on Feb. 24, those involved in the Lower Mainland school districts will rally at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Classified Advertising COMING EVENTS JAN. 19 — JOSE MARTI NIGHT, 7:30 p.m., downstairs Russian Hall. F2¢, ampbell Ave. Film, guest. speab- +50 ONE aen. Refresh- ments. Ticke POSS cap and unemployed. Sponsored by Canadian Cuban Friendship Association. FEB. 3-24 — BASICS Series ‘85. A set of 4 introductory classes on Marxist theory and practice held on consecutive Sunday evenings in Vancouver and Surrey (Feb. 10 to Mar. 3) Registration fee: $10. Admission by pre- registration only. For more info. write Gr. Van. Cttee. CPC, #102, 2747 E. Hastings St., Van. B.C. V5K 1Z8 or phone Miguel Figueroa at 254-9836. FOR SALE LAST CALL for orders of 1984 bound volumes of the Tribune. $50 per volume. COMMERCIAL ‘ GRAMMA PUBLICATIONS. Complete print- ing services. Brochures, menus, leaflets, etc. A union shop. 1595 W. 3rd Ave., Vancouver. Hours: Mon-Fri. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., 733-6822. ELECTRICAL, plumbing, appliance repairs. Don Berg. 255-7287. GENERAL INSURANCE, home, business, trade unions. 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V6A I1N8 682-2781 Offers a broad range of legal services including: Personal Injury & Insurance claims Real Estate & Conveyancing Divorce & Family Law Labour Law Criminal Law Estates & Wills 40% off all Soviet books in translation 40th Anniversary Sale Jan. 21 to Feb. 2 People’s Co-op Bookstore 1391 Commercial Drive, Vancouver Telephone: 253-6442 20% off regular prices on all other books in stock ‘PACIFIC TRIBUNE, JANUARY 16, 1985 e 11