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inion _ _TeReview Wednesday, December 19,1990 — AI2  *
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‘+ UPHOLSTERY * DRAPERIES -
xANTIQUES KETC.

New school still needed

by Lynn Lewis
New — New Mi. Newton
Schoo! Committee 1990

new middle school.

this community.

never attend?

in fact they have gotten worse.

school.

636 children.

Since 1986 a group of concerned parents has
lobbied every government official who would
listen to the reasons why Central Saanich needs a

In 1989, and after endless months of investigat-
ing parcels of land that are large enough to build a
school, the Saanich School District purchased an
11-acre site at Stellys and Gowdy roads from the
federal government. The board met all legal
requirements regarding land title searches, ALR
release and public meetings. Hundreds and thou-
sands of dollars and endless hours of time have
gone into planning for this school, which was
scheduled to start being built last October.

On Oct. 9, at a school board meeting to approve
the building contract, a lawyer for the Tsartlip
Band informed this community that a site specific
native land claim had been filed that day.

Unfortunately, through the media, coverage of
this issue has shifted the focus from the need fora
new school to a land claim dispute between local
native bands and big government, represented by
School District 63. The victims are the children in

Children and parents have been very patient
over the past four years waiting for this new
school. This year, students of Mt. Newton enthusi-
astically participated in two fund raising projects
to raise money for their new school. Is it fair, and
how much longer can we expect children to work
towards a school that the majority of them will

On November 25, 1986, the New Mt. Newton
School Committee submitted a brief to the
Honorable A.J. Brummett, Minister of Education,
citing many problems with the existing facility —
four years later, the problems haven’t gone away,

The school is located within 500 feet of a gravel
pit operation. This has resulted in excess dust and
noise. Recently an industrial park opened up in
the pit, resulting in constant truck and large
machinery traffic crossing the entrance to the

The school sits on 5.8 acres, which falls far
short of the ministry requirement of 11 acres for

cy. And yet the

facts.

There are issues facing this community which
need addressing, such as golf courses and land
development. I see children’s safety and educa-
tion as a top priority. If ever there was a priority in
this community, it is the education of our youth
and that means providing them with a safe and
reasonable facility. The present Mt. Newton does
not provide either.

Acquiring enough land to build a school is not a
process that happens overnight. Four long years
have gone by with teachers doing an outstanding
job in contending with the less than desirable
conditions at the present school. We can’t afford
to wait another year, let alone two.

I applaud the staff at Mt. Newton for doing
their best for the last four years, but enough is
enough. This community desperately needs a new
school, one that will enhance the learning of ALL
children in Central Saanich.

I urge every citizen to start aaeins the school

_ board, municipal, provincial and federal govern-
ments accountable to their actions to date and
encourage them to work co-operatively in solving
this issue immediately.

The current enrollment has gone well past
straining the school’s resources to the limit. There
is a drastic shortage of space with some programs
having to share rooms.

The library has been pressed into service for a
teaching area and, due to its size, renders it
unavailable as a real resource centre.

Ministry guidelines state 2,200-square-feet of
library space should be available. Mt. Newton has
1,172 square-feet. Washroom facilities are totally
inadequate. Of particular concern is the home
economics room located in the basement with no
immediate outside evacuation route.

Because Central Saanich has a volunteer fire
department, no less than 10 fire department
vehicles will respond in the event of an emergen-
would mean that fire trucks would be diving on
roads which are the only means of evacuation for
the 700 children and adults.

There is inadequate parking, virtually no stopp-
ing areas and poor turing facilities for vehicles.
This has compromised the safety of children
travelling to and from the school by car, bus,
bicycle, and when walking. Armival and departure
times are pure chaos.

These are only some of the alarming and real

island” nature of the school

Teletheatre betting starts Jan. 1

Teletheatre betting will kick off
a third season at Sandown Harness
Raceway on Jan. 1, the track’s
operator said last week.

Betting off Cloverdale Race-
way’s handles will give people the
chance to win double the purses
offered by Sandown’s live stan-
dardbred program, Jim Keeling Sr.
said.

And the additional source of
income will help Sandown’s mar-
ginal business to stay afloat, espe-
cially since it’s been losing money
from its live racing schedules, he

said.
With no live standardbred racing

scheduled at the Sidney track until
next May, simulcast betting should

K.1.C.S. PLAYSCHOOL
3 & 4 Year Olds

Register NOW for January
_ Programs
Jues/Thurs. or Wed./Fri.

BRENTWOOD BAY
Call 652-4444

Central Saanich Recreation

draw up to 500 people to each
meet this winter, Keeling esti-
mated.

Earlier this year, televised live
racing from the Lower Mainland’s
Cloverdale Raceway allowed San-
down to gross about $60,000 at
each meet, Keeling Sr. said.

Track-to-track simulcast wager-
ing will run from Jan. 1 until Apr
8, with meets on Saturday and
Sunday during January, he said.

Intertrack racing will also be
featured on Wednesday and Friday
nights from February onwards, he
said.

About 50 teletheatre-wagering
dates are scheduled for this winter,
as compared to the 40 dates in
1989, he said.

The inaugural meet will feature
11 races transmitted from Clover-
dale, starting at 1:15 p.m. on Jan.
1.

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