For many who saw this photo in the Vancouver Sun last week there
Was a symbolism to it which although not surprising, still raised
eyebrows to see it in black and white. According to one report,
however, Nixon’s tie was the work of one of the Sun’s more con-

Scious staffers.

Tax relief and improved
school standards needed

Continued from page 1

enrollments are being ac-
companied by unjustified
escalating costs.

The truth is that school district

. budgets increased by 8.6 percent

over last year while the provincial
governments finalized its own
budget with a 9.8 percent increase.
The basic levy for school purposes
has been raised 50 percent in three
years from 26.5 mills to 39.75 mills.
This has effectively reduced the
provincial share of education costs
from 60 percent to 42 percent. over
this period.

This year the province adopted
one of the recommendations of the

Contrasting two artistic worlds

BEHIND THE SCENES IN TWO
WORLDS, by Elaine and Harry
Mensh, International Publishers,
New York, 1978, 342 pages, $4.95
Paper, available at. the Co-Op
Bookstore.

a

A book by a husband-wife team is

ararity in itself, What makes this -

ok unique is its multi-faceted
Character and the depth of its
Perceptions.

The author’s backgrounds —

Chicago-born Elaine Mensh is a>

writer, playwright, former civil
tights organizer; Sutton, West
Virginia-born Harry Mensh is a
Writer, editor, former seaman and
a veteran of the Abraham Lincoln
Brigade which fought Franco in
Spain — and their Marxist-Leninist
outlook make for the kind of blend

which can produce such singular
work,

The authors made three trips to
the German Democratic Republic
in which they interviewed scores of
actors, writers, directors,
producers in the theatre, TV and

films as well as shop workers and
officials. They are knowledgeable
about what happens behind the
scenes in the theatre arts, and have
reinforced this with prodigious
research (there are over 300
reference notes, more than two-
thirds of which are from bourgeois
and non-Communist sources).
“Behind the Scenes in Two

Worlds” is a striking study in.

contrasts: detween the night-
marish dungeon of anti-human
horrors that was Nazi capitalism
and the sunlit-clear reality of the
struggle for new human relations
in the GDR which is inherent in all
the countries of real. socialsim;
between the reality of the cultural
world in the lands of capitalism,
the USA first of all, but also the
Federal Republic of Germany, and
in the socialist GDR between the
real world which the theatre arts
reflect and influence in capitalism
and in socialsim: between the aims
and uses to which they are put in
the two systems of society.

The new relationships that are
being ~ forged between director,
producer, designer, ‘members of

COPE IE PARTY

SUNDAY, AUG. 13th, 1 P.M.
RANKIN’S HOUSE — 3570 Hull St.

LUNCH and FLEA MARKET

Bring your own chair
and leave your dog at home -

_ (If you have good saleable things for ihe Flea
Market please contact Jonnie Rankin 872-2128)

CUBAN GARDEN PARTY

“SUPPER

JULY 23rd — 2-8 p.m.

805 East Pender St.

$4 ADULTS —
$2 CHILDREN
% Dinner 5:30

Ausp. Canada-Cuba Friendship Assoc.

the cast and technical staff are
revealed as superior in every
respect to relationships that exist
in capitalism. The new cooperative
(but not uncritical) relationships in
socialism stem from the fun-
damental premise of socialism
that the interests and needs of the
people come first, as against that
which determines the relationships.
in capitalism, the drive for profits
and defense of the interests of the
giant conglomerates which
dominate artistic production.

The authors’ material on Bertolt
Brecht could stand by itself.
The malicious misrepresentation
of the great German / playwright
by Brustein, Bentley, Esslin and
others is exposed and demolished
by Brecht’s colleagues. Among
many concepts explored in their
discussions with the Menshes are
the artist as advocate and the
difference between criticism and

“dissent”? — all subjected to a-

critical class evaluation in light of
the reality that exists both on and
off the stage.

Naturally, ‘“Behind the Scenes”
will hold special interes' ‘or people
in the performing arts. ut it is
really addressed to all of us who go
to the movies, who watch TV or go
to the theatre — and most of us are
workers. This book deserves a big
audience. It is a rich storehouse of
class enlightenment.

-and

McMath Report: on Taxation and
placed all property assessments in
B.C. at market value. But it chose
to ignore another major recom-:
mendation in the report that the
senior government assume 75
percent of the costs of education.
Instead, it reduced its share.

The provincial government also
introduced a new Colleges Act
which has been proclaimed and put
into practice — all except for the
section of the Act, passed by the
legislature, that would have the
provincial government relieve’
local boards of the costs of running
community colleges.

The real reason for higher school
taxes is not because school boards
are spending more, but because
the Socreds are paying less.

The government highlights
declining enrollment as the reason.
why less money should be spent on
education. Enrollment declined by
1.5 percent in B.C. last year, but
many school costs such as heating,
maintenance, supplies and bussing.
increased substantially.

Moreover, in past years when
enrollment was growing quickly,
education spending was grossly
inadequate. Many parents were
demanding increased educational
opportunities, especially to meet
the needs of handicapped children
those with learning
disabilities. It is only now that
schools are beginning to catch up
with these demands and are
beginning to provide the individual
attention that only smaller classes
can facilitate. With available space
and personnel, surely now is the
time to improve education stan-
dards in B.C.

While the minister of education
is short on support and long on
criticism for public education,
independent schools are receiving
support and praise from the
minister. Under the terms of Bill
33, these schools will receive $9
million this year in provincial
funding. That amounts to $500 per
pupil, an amount which greatly
exceeds the per pupil funding by

the province in many public school
districts.

Not only that, much of this
money is not even being used for
education. Recently, the Catholic
schools, which constitute a
majority. of independent schools,
announced that the funding would
not reduce tuition fees for pupils,
nor would it raise teachers’
salaries. Instead, the money will
be directed to the church to offset
church subsidies for parochial
schools. The underpaid teachers
are incensed that they will receive
no benefit from the funding. No
doubt parents who were hoping for
assistance in paying tuition fees
are also dissapointed. But that is
the result of the Socred’s Bill 33 —
less money for public education
and no imporvement in education
standards in the independent
schools.

No, the provincial government
does not consider: education to be
important. The steady reduction in
provincial funding has been
rationalized by the contention that
education spending was exceeding
the growth in provincial revenues.
But in fact the 1964-1965 elemen-
tary and secondary education
expenditures amounted to 19.7
percent of government revenues.
At the same time, the provincial
government has forced an increase
in local taxes to support the basic
education program of $225 million
over the last five years.

Homeowners are rightfully
protesting their tax bills. The
change in assessments together
with the provincially imposed mill
levy has pushed many tax bills up
to a point where owning a home is
an unaffordable luxury.

But don’t be misled by the
propaganda of the government. We
need both tax relief and improved
education standards. High taxes
and declining education standards
are both directly attributable to the
policies of the provincial govern-
ment.

If education was really a top
priority of the provincial govern-
ment it would treat it as a service
to people and not a tax on property,
and finance education out of
general revenues. The recom-
mendation of the McMath report
that the province pay 75 percent of
education costs would be a good
start.

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING

. COMING EVENTS

JULY 15 — 8 PM, Dance at Web-
ster’s Corners Hall. Admission
$2.00. Spons. by BC-YCL and the
Maple Ridge Club of the CPC.
Everyone welcome.

JULY 15 — Saturday, July 15, 8:30
p.m. An evening of Black and
Carribean culture; Poetry,
music, dance; from 10:30 dance
to Reggae music, 1320 W. 15 Ave.
733-3758 $3.00 admission.
Refreshments. Proceeds to
assist ANC Vancouver delegate
to World Youth Festival.

JULY 15-16 Reform. or
Revolution? YCL Weekend
School at Webster’s Corners
Hall. Subject: Social Democracy
in Canada and around the world.
For more information phone 732-
5480 or 251-1186.

JULY 16 — FRC Picnic, Con-

’ federation Park, Burnaby, enjoy
Russian food and music, 12 noon.
In the case of rain, festivities at
Russian People’s Home, 600
Campbell Ave.

JULY 16 — Sunday, July 16, West
End COPE Garden Party, 1220

Barclay St., 3 - 8 p.m. Food and
refreshments. $4.00 for em-
ployed, $3.00 unemployed and

seniors.

JULY 23 Canadian. Cuban
Friendship Association annual
garden party on Sunday, July
23rd at 805 E. Pender St., 2 - 8
p.m. Entertainment, Cuban
music and Cuban supper at 5:30.
Adults $4, children $2. Bring your
own garden chair.

JULY 30 — annual Fraser Valley
Picnic will be held Sunday, July
30th — 1 p.m. at Fred Bianco’s
10246-132nd St., Surrey. Program
includes sports, contests (for
adults and children) also guest
speaker. Your choice of delicious
Barbecued Salmon Dinner or
Chicken Dinner — Adults $4.00,
children 12 and under $2.00.
Sponsored by North and South
Fraser Regional Cttees., CPC.

AUGUST 13 — COPE Garden
Party, Sunday, August 13th at 1
p.m., Rankin’s house, 3570 Hull
St. Lunch and Flea Market.
your dog at home. If you have
good saleable things for the Flea
Market please contact Jonnie
Rankin 872-2128.

WANTED
“Have you any good items to donate
to the Flea Market to be held at
COPE Garden Party at
Rankin’s., Sunday, August 13th.
Please contact Jonnie Rankin —
872-2128. No junk please.

BUSINESS PERSONALS
ROOF REPAIRS
Reasonable 254-5836

SHEET METAL WORK
Reasonable 277-3352

HALLS FOR RENT

WEBSTER’S CORNERS HALL —
Available for ~ banquets,
meetings, etc. For rates: Ozzie,
325-4171 or 685-5836.

‘

“RUSSIAN ;PEOPLE’S _ ‘HOME =
Available for rentals. For.
reservations phone 254-3430.

UKRAINIAN CANADIAN
CULTURAL CENTRE — 805
East Pender St., Vancouver.
Available for banquets, wed-
dings, meetings. Ph. 254-3436

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—July 14, 1978—Page 7