Opinion Continued from Page A6 A true picture of board’s budget Editor: The Saanich School Board was very disappomted to find that the Minister of Education found it necessary to quote figures that add to the confusion on the issue of educational funding. Minister Stan Hagen is quite correct that the Saanich School Board received an overall funding increase of 6.5 per cent which includes funding for 262 addi- tional students expected in Sep- tember 1991. These additional stu- dents will require facilities, teach- ers, Support staff, supplies, etc. The true funding increase for the Saanich School District in the 1991/92 term is 2.61 per cent which is the per pupil grant in 1991/92 of $5,448.69 less the 1990/91 per pupil grant of $5,309.91 which equals a per pupil increase of $138.78 or 2.61 per cent increase. From the 2.61 per cent, this board is required to honor its contractual agreements with its employees, cover the current rate of inflation in excess of 6 per cent for goods and services, cover addi- tional taxes caused by the imple- Daytime break-ins A small yellow car was used by thieves to carry away a color television set from a Swartz Bay Road home, April 29, RCMP said. Two break-ins happened during the daylight hours but nothing was taken from one home after an alarm went off, police said. In the second home, thieves were also surprised when the owner returned, but that did not prevent them from taking the tele- vision. Police ask those with informa- tion to call Crime Stoppers or Sidney RCMP. Smash and grab at china shop An eight-inch Moorcraft vase valued at $325 was stolen from the Roy Lack and Son China Shop and Restorations at 7120-West Saanich Rd. in the Brentwood Village Shopping Centre about 7:45 p.m. Apml 2, Central Saanich police said. But police have a good descrip- tion of a suspect because a neigh- boring restaurant employee saw the crime and chased a man. “An individual from the restau- rant saw the suspect kick in the front window, grab the vase, and chased him to Wallace Drive, where (the suspect) was lost,” deputy police Chief George Law- son said. The suspect is described to be 20-22 years old, about six-feet tall, with a solid build, about 200 Ibs., wearing dark shoulder-length hair, a baseball cap and a moustache. The vase is of a traditional shape, eight-inches high, with a dark blue floral pattern and says “Moorcraft - Made in England” on the bottom. Police ask those with information to call Central Saanich police or Crime Stoppers at 386-8477. Damage to the window was estimated at $300. mentation of the Goods and Ser- vices Tax, increased cost of Unemployment Insurance pay- ments, teacher increments, ser- vices to special needs students, and implementation of the Year 2000 initiatives. We do take exception to the Minister using a figure of 39.6 per cent mcreased per pupil cost over the past four years when in that time the Education Ministry has transferred to school boards the additional responsibility for bud- geting for textbooks, capital allow- ance and teacher pensions. The public is confused enough with the government’s manipula- tion of school board budgets. If the government is going to quote fig- ures, it would be helpful to all if they could quote all the facts and not a selected sample which dis- torts the information. Dr. Graham Hill Chairman of the Board Saanich School District Disaster looms on highway situation Editor: The traffic situation in Sidney will soon become a disaster. With no southbound access to the Pat Bay Highway from McDonald Park Road, traffic has to go down Resthaven to get to the Beacon access. At rush hour, cars are already getting backed up on Resthaven and this is only the start of May. I understand there will be an eight-minute duration green lights for highway traffic while the big ferry traffic is southbound. Just wait until the summer ferry traffic really starts to roll! Mayor Marie Rosko should start thinking of leasing a couple of acres of land to use as a holding pen for the backed up traffic that will try to get onto Beacon at the height of the summer. As the boy scout motto says, “be prepared.” Bob Weir Sidney ie Tawiver or Legal Information? TheReview Wednesday, May 8,1991 — A8 Lawyer Referral Service: If you need legal advice but don't know where to look, or need a lawyer but don't » know one, the Lawyer Referral Service can help. It's simple and inexpensive: an interview of up to 30 minutes costs only $10. Lawyer Referral Service, Victoria 382-1415. Dial-a-Law: Free general legal information on 135 different topics is now available 24 hours a day from touch tone phones. Call toll-free 1-800-972-0956. (Callers from rotary phones can be connected by our operator during regular office hours, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) A public service of the B.C. Branch, MWg Canadian Bar Association, funded by the Law Foundation of B.C. ___NOW OPEN | T.R. FREEBURN WATCH & CLOCK REPAIR .4>_ “FREE ESTIMATES ; ON REPAIR” | A] GRANDFATHER fi CLOCKS uJ REPAIR IN YOUR HOME HOURS:Mon-Fri 9:30-5:30 Sat 9:30-1pm (Ui #2-2475 Mt. Newton X Rd. (next to McDonalds) 652-5592 TOWN OF SIDNEY WATER MAIN FLUSHING PROGRAM The Town of Sidney will carry out main flushing in the area SOUTH of Beacon Avenue between May 14th and June 19th, 1991. Water supply will be off between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. in areas where flushing is taking place and discolour- ation of water may occur. Residents are advised to run cold water taps to clear their system of any discolouration prior to using washing machines or other water consuming appliances. 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