VANCOUVER —— A school gymnasium packed by 1,200 people in Vancouver Sept. 20 was living proof that the Socred government has more to worry about than the opposi- tion of trustees and teachers to their devastating cutbacks in public education. The parents, children and students who jammed the Mount Pleasant Elementary School gym unanimously en- dorsed, with sustained applause, a mo- tion from the floor calling on the Van- couver School Board to reject a budget imposed by the Ministry of Education that would chop more than $16 million from Vancouver’s schools over the next three years. They also endorsed a variety of other actions suggested by the meeting’s spon- sors, the Vancouver District Parent with money to help pay for ads deploring the cutbacks, to be run in Vancouver’s dailies and community newspapers. The parent representatives, compris- ing an eight-member board chosen by the parent-run school consultative commit- tees in four districts of the city, had called the meeting after learning of the cuts at a VSB meeting late last month. Dissatisfied with the school board’s response to the cutbacks, the VDPR em- barked on a major campaign to promote the meeting. Notices were posted in schools and community centres, and children were given leaflets to take home. The result was an overwhelming tur- nout at which parents took to the microphone, following a breakdown of the* cutbacks presented by VDPR members, supporting further actions. Many urged that the representatives of- ficially join the province-wide Solidarity Coalition. “Tt isn’t just this piece of legislation — we are fighting a package on this,’* said parent Mike Leibowitz in urging action: with the Solidarity Coalition. People who took to the microphone were supposed to ask questions of the parent representatives, but many phrased their questions so that they constituted statements. A parent, who said she was a nurse at Vancouver’s Grace Hospital, asked what the future of education would be for the approximately 8,400 children born at the hospital yearly. Another person asked why, if the budget necessary to maintain current ser- vices was matched by citizens’ school tax contributions, was the Ministry of Education reducing school funding. “That’s a question for the Ministry of Education,”’ answered parent represen- tative Christina Taulu. (School districts lost a good deal of financial control last year when the .Socreds, in the first year of their restraint plan last year, sized the commercial and industrial tax bases that constituted the major source of funding for many boards.) Parent representatives submitted four pages on the budget and the effects of the Representatives, and filled six buckets: Parents urge trustees reject Socred cutbacks Parents take to microphone to urge Solidarity action against public school cut- backs at parent-sponsored meeting in Vancouver. estimated $16-$18 million shortfall, in- cluding a list of 24 elementary schools or annexes, and four secondary schools that they warned may be closed since declining enrollments make them tempting targets at a time of slashed funding. The analysis noted that although there is a $16.1 million difference between the 1983 VSB budget of $170.83 million, which the ministry wants to whittle down to $154.6 million by 1986, the real short- fall, assuming an annual inflation rate of six per cent, would be in the neighborhood of more than $48 million. The board would need a budget of $203 million to maintain current services by 1986, the analysis stated. There is no inflationary allowance in the ministry’s three-year budget plan, which means that at least 417 staff posi- tions will have to be chopped, even through the district representatives have always been against staff layoffs, said parent representative Monica Simonsen. Representative Barbara Annandale presented a list of suggested actions for parents, receiving strong applause from the audience. These included ads in local newspapers, letters to MLAs, Premier Bennett and Education Minister Jack Heinrich, and invitations by district con- sultative committees to their area liaison trustee to attend meetings and explain his or her position on the cutbacks. “Some of them appear to be in support of the budget cuts,’’ she noted. But ap- plause from the audience went to three trustees from the Committee of Pro- gressive Electors — Pauline Weinstein, Philip Rankin and Wes Knapp — whoat- tended the meeting in support of the fightback actions. The representatives also received pro- longed applause for a petition to be sent as a night letter to Bennett. “We, the undersigned, oppose the cen- tralization of power and erosion of democratic decision-making processes by the provincial government,”’ it read. The loudest applause went to the statements: ‘“‘We oppose increased sup- port to private schools at the expense of public education. We deplore the govern- ment’s subsidies to the rich at the expense of children with speech and hearing pro- blems and at the expense of children for whom English is not a native language.”’ Another ‘petition distributed throughout the audience urged support for ‘‘those trustees who find this budget TRIBUNE PHOTO — DAN KEETON unacceptable.’’ The Solidarity Coalition _ petition against the budget bills was also circulated. Taulu said after the meeting that the parent representatives weren’t told about the cuts until late August, and that by calling the meeting ‘‘we’re doing what we’re mandated to do. ‘“We’ve got the support of the parents with this meeting, and we’re going to take this support to the Premier. We won’t back down now,”’ she said. — Right-wing aldermen aim at DERA funding Downtown Eastside Residents Associa- tion organizer Jim Green was acting in his own capacity when, along with some’ 80 other individuals, he occupied the provincial cabinet’s Vancouver offices Sept. 17, DERA president Glen Bullard has stated. But such distinctions didn’t bother right- wingers on Vancouver city council, in- cluding the most vociferous, Ald, Warnett Kennedy of the civic Non-Partisan Associa- tion. Kennedy moved, at council’s Sept. 20 meeting, that city funding for the communi- ty organization be rescinded on the basis that Green, who was absent from work with writ- ten permission at the time, was involved in the occupation. “TI know this motion won’t pass, but I’m making it anyway,’’ Kennedy, who has voted against funding for the organization every year when civic grants are distributed, said. The motion was deferred by council pen- ding a review of DERA’s work in a meeting with Bullard, Green and the Social Planning Department which was set for Sept. 27. Under conditions imposed on all civit funded groups following DERA’s lengthy and successful appeal for a grant this yeal, DERA must meet with the department for quarterly review of its work. The first of these meetings had to take place prior to Oct. 1, said Bullard. Bullard also noted that Green had asked for a leave of absence from his job one day prior to the occupation. “Tt isn’t unusual for him to ask for a day off and then, since his is no nine-to-five job — it’s more like nine to nine,’’ Bullard ex plained. : “It was unusual for him to ask for permis sion in writing, but given the reason, hé realized it was necessary,’’ he added. PEOPLE AND ISSUES I tis perhaps.only a footnote to the events surrounding the tragedy of Korean Air Lines flight 007, but a piece that appeared recently in the French Communist daily L’Humanite is an intriguing footnote indeed. According to the paper, a 1981 biography, entitled ‘‘Secret Service 7: The Extraor- dinary Story of Colonel Marcel Le Roy, alias Finville, and his Secrets,’’ written by Philippe Bernert, mentioned the use of French civilian aircraft for spying over Soviet ter- ritory. In the book, published by Presse de la Cite, Col. Le Roy is quoted as saying that as a French civilian pilot, he was given the task of locating Soviet rocket launching ramps while on flights to Moscow. Le Roy said that the Americans were ‘‘obsessed”’ in their desire to discover the location of the ramps. “We were at the time the only western country with flights to the east,”’ he said. “*. . . the Americans asked us to take advantage of our flights to photograph Soviet terrain. We had to do nothing more nor less than to tranform some our our civil pilots into spies, a truly daring project since the Russians do not take a light view of citizens whom they catch red-handed.’’ Le Roy revealed: ‘Altogether our concealed cameras were used several times over Soviet territory. Five rocket bases for a completely new type of rocket, the so called “‘Marguerite’’, were discovered and entered on the strategic maps of NATO.” * He * * * s anyone who has listened to his tortured television interviews knows, Premier Bill A Bennett has never been distinguished for his enlightened thought. But it took the occupation of the premier’s Vancouver offices Sept. 16 to give people an idea of the dimensions of his narrowmindedness. Poring over the bookshelves — they were open — in an effort to find something to pass’ the long night hours, some of the occupiers reported that, other than statute books, the only reading material available in the office — which, it must be allowed, is also used by Bennett’s chief aide Patrick Kinsella — consisted of three small volumes: Viva Chair- man Pierre by Lubor Zink; Bilingual Today — French Tomorrow by J. V. Andrew; and Planned Chaos, a lengthy tirade against all government intervention by Ludwig Von Mises. The first book is a good indication of the rest. Zink, a syndicated columnist whosé photo sometimes appears in the New Westminster Columbian with the bottom half of the face missing (the top half would be more appropriate), sees two evils int he world: The Soviet Union and Trudeau who, according to Zink, is Moscow’s minion. His book, which opens chapters with quotations from Lenin and Brezhnev before going on to talk about Trudeau, is the expression of that viewpoint. ; On a less refined note, the washroom also provided some comic relief during the 27-hour occupation, we’re told. Of course it was stocked with Amway products (perhaps another political donation?). But despite the sophisticated plumbing, including, ap- parently, a silent flusher, the toilet just couldn’t stand up to the use and flush handle broke. One of the occupiers, Gail Meredith acknowledged the breakage to the mass rally outside the courthouse, telling demonstrators that $7 had been left behind, partly to cover the breakage. She added: ‘‘Unfortunately, ordinary people just aren’t used to an eX- ecutive washroom.”’ : * * * * * T here are no doubt many trade unionists, peace activists and other progressive people across Canada who have been hungering for some entertainment with meaning © complement the progressive struggle during the autumn months. And they’ll have a chance to fulfill that wish when Vancouver trade unionist and songster George Hewiso® begins his month-long tour this Thursday. Accompanied by keyboards player Bob Wishinski, George, whose recent album of labor and peace songs has reached hundreds of trade unionists around the country, W) play to packed houses — one date in Ottawa has already sold out — beginning Castlegar Sept. 29. : The concerts will, according to tour manager John Rodosevic, touch the issues uppe™ most in everybody’s minds: peace, the cruise missile and the Operation Solidarity fight back against the Socred budget. Trade unionists and peace groups across the country pooled their resources for the col” certs there. In Winnipeg, the education department of the Manitoba Federation of Labo! is the sponsoring group. The labor councils in Ottawa and Vancouver are among thosé hosting their respective concerts. Following the Castelgar engagement, the tour moves to Edmonton on Friday, follow” |, ed by Calgary on Saturday, Oct. 1. The remaining itinerary includes Regina on Oct. Toronto on Oct. 7, Ottawa on Oct. 8, Winnipeg on Oct. 14, and a concluding concest back in Vancouver on Oct. 30 at the QE Playhouse. J PACIFIC TRIBUNE—SEPTEMBER 28, 1983—Page 2