District holds firm on hiring Teachers’ future undecided By ALEX HAMILTON DESPITE PRESSURE from the teachers’ unions, the fu- ture of 40 teachers in Ter- race and Kitimat are on hold until September when the School district knows what its enrollment will be. Twenty Terrace teachers and twenty Kitimat teachers were laid off this spring be- cause student enrollment dropped over the past year. School. district _. official Andrew Scruton said the district is being, conservative given that it ended up with foo many teachers because of declining student »um- bess at the start of the last school year, “If you hold back posi- tions and there are mare kids in September you can always hire the teachers back,” Scruton said. _ If the district re-hired the 40 teachers and then found they weren’t needed, it would cost thousands of dollars because they can’t be Jaid off until December. ““We must act as fiscally responsible as possible,” Scruton said, Pressure from the head of the Terrace and District Teachers Union, Frank Rowe, forced the board to look into the possibility of rehiring more teachers be- fore September. The provincial govern- menl’s recent $110-million ‘investment in Skeena Cel- lulose is expected to in- crease economic activity and draw workers with families back to the area. They had left when the log- ging industry declined. “A hald back of 20 teach- ing positions [in Terrace] is unnecessary,” Rowe said, “Ht flies in the face of evi- _ dence and what is likely.’” But Scruton said it’s im- _ possible to know whether or not the increased activity tied to Skeena Cellulose will draw workers with children back by this fall. Scruton expects SCI will spend money on Prince Rupert’s B raill and building © roads before pumping money into its operations here. kk kkk To ensure it doesn’t over- hire, the school board has employed so few teachers for next year that Copper Mountain Elementary must have a split class of Grade 3, 4 and 5 students. School principal Dave Bartley said the threc-grade split was necessary due to the amount of teachers as- signed to his school this fall. The split-grade class will contain every Grade 4 stu- dent as well as some Grade 3 and some Grade 5 siu- dents. Although the school has always had two-grade splits, Bartley said the three-grade split will be a challenge for the classroom teacher. “The difference is that a teacher will be responsible for three curriculums,’ he said. ‘It’s planning load.” He added that it may be” difficult for the teacher to affectively get. around to each student, especially if there are children with spe- cial needs in the class. Teachers = union head u Bridgi ng the gap A GROUP of 15 Caledonia Sr. Secondary construc- tion students worked together with the city parks and recreation department to build a new bridge extend- ing Howe Greek trail west from Munroe St. ta Thomas St. Helping complete the bridge last Wad- NEID ENTERPRISES LTD NEW EXCLUSIVE DEALER for SHINDAIWA Gear Up For The Season! We have a complete line of Shindiawa products for , e faller to the gardener. ¢Brushcutiers ¢Grass Trimmers ‘Chain Saws 2. Hedge Trimming Shindiawa offers a 1 year warranty for commercial use and a 2 year warranty for consumer use. See your dealer for more details. NEID ENTERPRISES LTD. Recreational Sales and Services 4921 Keith Ave., Terrace, B.C. Phone 635-3478 Fax 635-5050 a Significant -.Rowe said. Frank Rowe agreed, saying the range of academic achicyement in the three grades is too great -— from pre-literate Grade 3s to Grade 5 students who may have a Grade 7 reading comprehension. ‘That's unreasonable,” “The board ‘needs to hire another ' teacher,’’ Bariley said if the school is given another teacher, it would eliminate the three- grade split and eliminate the school’s waiting list, where seven Students are in line. Acting Superintendent Sharon Beedle said three- split classes aren’t out of the ordinary; other schools in the district have had them before. “It is a difficult teaching situation for some individu- als, but some individuals also welcome it,'’ she said. The bottom tine, added Beedle, is that the disprick , can’t be caught in Sep#m- ber with loo many teachers. ‘These measures weren't taken in the past,’’ Beedle said, ‘‘Problems occurted.’' hesday were Jason Voninnerebner, Jonathan Sim- mons, Kevin Braam and Jessica Banville. The wood came from the city. It was the sixth bridge Caledonia construction classes have built in the last 10 years — four along Howe Creek and two on Ferry Island. Seeing The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, June 23 1999 - A3 News In Brief Monaghan elected vice president MORE THAN 1,800 voting delegates named Joanne Monaghan, a Kitimat city councillor and chair of the Kitimat-Stikine regional district, as the first vice presi- dent to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) at its annual convention in Halifax this month. FCM is an federal group, which represents Canadian municipalities and districts across the country. She is the second woman to be elected to the position in the 62 years of the organization, Monaghan has also been chair of the Union of B,C. Municipalities, the provincial association of municipalities. Gov't heavyweights visit local school officials FOUR education ministry officials were in Terrace last Thursday to check up on the school board. Deputy education minister Dr, Charles Ungerleider, assistant deputy ministers Rick Connolly and Peter Oland and superintendent field liaison Stewart Ladyman met with trustees and administrators to determine whether or not they were following recom- mendations put forward by a number of ministry ad- visory reports. Acting superintendent of schools Sharon Beedle said She had no idea what prompted the visit. But she explained the officials came to talk to the board about what progress had been made in response to the reports. Beedle said more than 150 recommendations have been put forward in a number of ministry reports be- ginning last year which examined the district's spend- ing and education programs. Becdle said all the district staff who were at the meet- ing ‘‘fee] positive’? about the officials’ fact-finding visit. “There was a general feeling after they left that things are more positive in the district,’’ she said, ‘I think things are looking up in the district.’’ The ministry officials will report their findings to the education minister. Skeena Cellulose eyed by American company TEXAS-BASED Enron Corp. was named by the Prince Rupert Daily News as ane of two prospective buyers of Skeena Cellulose. Enron is an American multinational specializing in oil, gas and alternative energies. Its officials recently toured SCI’s Prince Rupert pulp mill. An Enron representative wouldn't confirm the visit or interest in Skeena but said the corporation has invested in pulp and paper mills in the past. The provincial government, which took over SCI after its parent company abandoned it, has said all along its intention is to return the operation to the pri- vate sector. The Toronto-Dominion Bank and the com- pany’s pulp workers in Prince Rupert are minority shareholders in the company. hiropractic MATTRESS CENTER FREE FREE REM AOVAL OF OLD BED 30 DAY COMFORT & PRICE GUARANTEE Sets on sale from. *599 E | Chiropractic Queen: ET “ ° . SHhrinawail Reina Y & SET-UP - See instore for details. Totem’s Countrywide Furniture & Appliances 4501 Lakelse Ave. Terrace 1-800-813-1158 * 638-1158