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Whîtby Free Press, Wednesday, December 1. 1993, Page 31 By Mike Kowalskl Programs directly affecting students' education must be spared the chopping block, Witbyparents told Durham public school trustees last week. Instead, cost-conscious trus- tees should trim the "fat" from other areas in order to reduce next year's projected 6.7 per cent budget increase, parents con- tend. Administrative expenses and a new headquarters currently being built in Whitby should be cut before any prograins are tou- ched, they suggest. About 60 parents attended a meeting at Anderson CVI last Tuesday to present briefs and make suggestions to trustees about the Durham Board of Edu- cation's 1994 budget. The meeting was one of a series of pre-budget sessions the board he d in DuramsRegion municipalitiesîlast month. Faced with an estimated $380.4-million budget for next year, trustees have targetted 34 different- programs and services that couldbe revamped or cut to save money. Items under consideration in- clude: * cutting nine speech and Ian ge pathologists who help staenta with physical and oe- tional problems which affect speech; * cutting counsellors, social workers, supply teachers and a superintendent; examining the possibility of 'all dayoevery ether day' kinder- garten c ses, which would eh- minate the need for noon-hour busing and save an estimated $895,000 from the board's $15.1- million transportation bill; * no longer providing busmlg for studentswhosatten French immersion classes; * modifying the 'gifted-student' prograin. Superintendent Bilan Cain teld the parentsthat in order to reduce the budget by one per cent, trustees must chop $2.2 million from the initia esti- mates. "Misa18 not aneas y tasksaid Cain, noting that scbhool boards must cope with less funding from the Ontario government. As a result of the province's expenditure control initiatives and social contract legislation Ontario school boards will have te make do with almost $600 million less than last year, Cain said. In Durham's case, this will be about $23 million. Since provincial funding will remain at 1992 levels, school boards will have no alternative but to turn to local taxpayers unless cuts are made, he explained. For example Durham will lose about 170 teacking positions dur- ing the next three years due to the social contract. No layoffs will occur, but posi- tions will be lost through attri- tion and not hiring new teachers as the student population grows, Cain said. Cain inted out that 75 per cent of theboard's budget is "ed up in wages and beneits and of that total, «92 per cent is school-. based.t «There's net a lot eut in the system thatsnonet focused at the schoollevel »he said. Cain's observation was not shared by many of those present, however. More than one speaker tld trustees to look elsewhere in their drive te cut costo. Lhnda Smith-Miller of the F.M. Heard Public School parents' assocation pleaded with trustees te continue busing students wbo attend Frenc immersion classes. Dropping this service will force parents te pull their children eut of the pregram and have them attend schools closer to home, thus putting a strain on existing facilities, she claimed. «We appreciate that you are under significant political press- ure to reduce the budget, but we're not asking you to save ours at others' expense,» said Smith- Miller. «Just leave ours at the current level 5o that we dontihave to meet next year te do this again," she said to prolonged applause from parents wo recalled last yearsbattle te save the program. Glen Hill Drive resident Janice Lacroix wanted trustees to spare the board's speech and language staff. She said her son Robert benefi. ted from their efforts after it was determined that his academic difficulties were due te aulearn ing problem and not caused by any medical reasen. ýob is now boing helped and maintained in a regular Grade 6 class in his home school and doing quite well," said Lacroixt «I urge you te resist an>' cuts t estaff.ourchildren and their self-esteem rest on your deci- sion," she said. Kindergarten teacher Velma Burley urged the board net te swith from the traditional half- day system ofekindergarten in- struction' Burley said most five-year-old children cannot be expected to function at the same level all day Ione and she rejected argments tha younger chldren in a care facilities for the entire day "Kindergarten is not signed as a custodial situation. Our mandate is to teach,» she said. Burley aIse reminded trustees thatrthe day is fast approach- ing when they will h ave to prgvide junior indergarten as well. "Can we expect three-and-a- half-year-olds to go on an al-day, every ether day basis?" she asked. Ratepayer Hugh Nicholson directed is comments at the cost of the board's administration complex on Taunton Road in Whitby. The combined education centre and secondary school will cost $33.8 million and is scheduled to open next year. While he conceded that the headqtuarters cannot be stepped, Nicholson questionned the need for almost $2 million in furniture and $2 million for "miscellane- ous"expenses. Since the board is net adding administrative staff, Nicholson suggested that money could be saved on furnishings. "I would assume most (staff) have their own chairs and desks "he said. Nicholson told trustees to cut back on administration and non- prograi expenses. rP a litte tired of buying wrapping paper so m kids can have a cernputer in their school and I'm a little tired of buying chocolate bars so my kids can have school trips," he said. "And I'm a little tired of 6.7 mill rates when I have to tell my staff they have te be happy with a two p r cent wago increase.» Tooud applause, Nicholson added, "Why can't you cut costs here (administration)uinstead of proFams and services?" Cain could not give a specific breakdown on the miscellaneous 1 costs, but said any furniture and equirment the board now bas Illbeovedt the new centre. Pickering trustee Ruth Ann Schedlich, finance committee chair, defended the administ- rationcerp lo.x Notingmthat it took the board 10 years before deciding to build the facility, Schedlich said it will save taxpayers $3 million on an annual basis as the board will no longer have to rent space in various locations throughout the regon. s for administration ex penses education director Pauline Laing said it costs the board approximately $5 per stu- dent, which is the lowest in Ontario. Admitting that a 6.7 per cent tax increase is "not acceptable," Schedlich said trustees will strive to reduce that figure. inBut she added a stern warn- e truth is we have to make cuts and we all have to share in it," said Schedlich, reminding the audience that the majority of A Whitby teen and her friend were accosted by a flasher early Sunday morning as they walked in the 500 block on Dundas Street East, west of Garden Street. Police say a man ran out from a sidestreet, ran in front and behind some houses and then elled.The women turned to see im standing in. a driveway public sehoolratepayers do not have children in the system. Following the meeting, Whitby trustee Allan Gunn said the ses- sions have * proven beneficial to the board. "We do hear what «ple have to say. They want a better understanding from us on how education dol ars are spent,» he said. Gunn said ratepayers are under the impression that the board spends «hundreds of thou- sands of dollars" on administ- ration and "that's not the case at all." He said staff bas actually been cut the last two years. "Work has not decreased but is distributed better and at the same time we're doing it with a growing system," said Gunn. Although not prepared to say that all programs and services must share in the pain, Gunn said he would support a review of all areas in which the board has discretion. "Are we getting good value for our dollar?If not, why not?" Flash er incident on Dundas Street exposing himself. They ran east on Dundas and were met by the teen's mother, police say. The flasher didn't ollow. The flasher is described as a white man, aged 30 to 35, fivce foot 10 inches to six feet tall, clean shaven with a slim build. The incident occurred around 1:45 a.m. Christmas Seat campaign Remember the Christmas Seal letter yeu received in Novembor and stored in your desk drawer for attention when the holiday got closer? Well, the Lung Association (Durhamn Region) hopes you'll pull that letter eut again and return your Christmas Seal contribution during 'Mail It Weok,' Dec. 13 te 20. Local Lung Association president Carolyn Greer said the association hopes that 7,000 people across Durham Region will answer their Christinas Seal letter during the week, bringing the association closer to its 1993 Christmas Seal goal of $185,000. So far, only about $75,000 has been raised, compared with $90,000 raised last year te this date. If you haven't received a Christmas Seal package and would like to support the campaign, call the Lung Association of Durham Region at 436-1046. Varying degrees ofinput into localbudgets FROM PAGE 1 Since last year marked the first time trustees encouraged public input specifically on the budget, there was little enthu- siasm from the "community at large,»Bowman said. But this year the response has been much better and people are worried about the impact of budget cuts on programs and services, she said. Items drawing the most com- mente were transportation costs, the French immersion program, 'all day, every other day' kinder- garten and eliminating the board's speech and language pathologiste, Bowman added. Even though this was only the second year for the public to participate in this fashion, the board has always debated its budget in open meetings prior to adopting it on budget nght. The next budget meeting will be Dec. 8 at the board oficein Oshawa. Meanwhile, Durham separate school board trustees are con- sidermg doing something similar to whattheir public school coun- te= haveust gone through. ever,or some Catholic trustees, seeking public input on the budget will seem 1ke old hat. "We initiated the idea several years ago, as far as having an information forum," recalled board chair and Whitby trustee Tom Oldman. "But we stopped doing it three years ago because not enough people came out,»he explained. Now, a motion currently before the board's personnel and finance committee is calling for more public involvement in the budget process, Oldman said. But what form that will take has yet to be decided, he said. "We will definitely be in con- tact with them (ratepayers) to keep them informed. We are open to suggestions," said Old- man. Anyone wishing to make pre- sentations to the committee ls invited to contact committee chair Joe Bugelli, also a Whitby trustee, to arrange a meeting, Oldman added. NO INPUT AT REGION While school board trustees endeavour to provide more opportunities for the public to have input into their budgets, the same cannot be said of Dur- ham Region. Although regional council pub- licly announces a pre-budget tar- t for staff to shoot at, and udget discussions by its finance committee are epen to the public, there is no p' ovision for budget presentatiors by ratepayers. "I Wess it's because the Regiona budget is so much more complex,» said Whitby councillor Ross Batten, a member of Dur- ham's finance committee. "Basically, the school board has teachers' salaries and pro- grams to look after,"he said. Since little can be done about salaries or provincially-manda- ted programs, trustees can only turn to those programs over which they have direct control when looking for areas to cut, Batten noted. "Our budget is not as straight- forward as the school board's, he said. PLANS TO OPEN UP TOWN PROCESS But while Durham Region at least announces its budget guide- lines and dobates the budget in a long public process prier to ado tingit, that has not been the trad tional way in Whitby. Until last yeas zero increase budge Whitb residents had no prier owl of what the yeas tax increase would be until budget night. And except f'or the past two years, there was no time set aside during the meeting for the public to comment on the budget. (Critics, however, contend that their comments were merely a public relations exercise and that they could not possibly convince council to make significant changes to the document that night.) Batten defended the dif- ferences between the Region's and Town's budget procedures. «I guess it's because its more hands-on at the Town,» he said. Councillors can be more invol- ved in the day-to-day running of a small municipality like Whitby and less so in a much larger entity such as Durham Region, Batten said. To allow the public to have meaningful input into the pro- cess would mean providing all pertinent budget information "virtually from day one," Batten said. "That opens a can of worms on a lot of fronts...there's a lot more variables when it comes to muni- cipalbudgets»hesaid. Thesheool board practice is "probably not the most produc- tive way of doing things" at this level, Batten said. "But on the other hand we are open to public scrutiny,»he said. "I have no problem with people calling me and saying we don't like this about the budget." Although it must still be approved by Town council, Whitby residents should not be surprised if next year's budget procedure does not follow establ- 1shed practice. Councillor Dennis Fox, Whitby's budget chief is recom- mending that council open up the process to a greater degree. "I'd like to give the public an opportunity, two to four weeks prior to finalization of the budget, to make suggestions on how to save money," said Fox. Although this will be a major shift in council policy, it is all part of an evolutionary process, according to Fox. "I think that with council, people have to understand where we're coming from. The budge- tary process is pretty entren- ched,"he said. "Any change internally was an involved process. We've now tried it a couple of different ways so we'll see how this works." Fox said he first raised the matter shortly after last spring's budget session and did not recall any major objections. I don'tthink it would catch anyone by surprise if it came up again," he said.