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PORT PERRY "WEEKEND STAR" | hr Bl ob od -r "2 FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2000 - 3 Officials analyzing $190 million announcement Funding may fall short of board's needs By Rik Davie Special to the Star Little of the extra $190 million in new education funding announced last week will find its way into Durham classrooms, offi- cials say. Ron Trbovich, Superintendent for Business and Finance for the Durham District School Board, said the region will see an initial jump of about $9 million. But he predicted the board will continue to struggle to find adequate funding for some pro- grams. "There is no money fac- tored in for inflation," said Mr. Trbovich. "Most of the money is for salary increases, and the remain- der (about $1.2 million) covers increased enroll- ment. after-year we get more kids, and so require more teachers and the related expenses of an increased student population." Mr. Trbovich predicted that "we will experience a shortfall over last year in several areas." He explained that an infusion of money into the education system doesn't necessarily mean more money for all of the pro- grams and curriculum offered by the board. "When figures are announced for programs like special education, those funds must be applied for by the individ- ual boards," he said. "Then we have to sit back It is because year- - and wait to see whether they are approved under the provincial guidelines." Preliminary - figures show a shortfall in special education programs. "We will have to make "cuts in the special educa- tion area and realign our delivery of some of those services in the coming budget," said Mr. Trbovich. The problem lies in the way the government allo- cates special education dollars; they flow to the board in two ways: First, through Special Education Per Pupil grants (SEPPA), and secondly, through Intensive Support Amount grants (ISA), Mr. Trbovich said the biggest problem is that SEPPA grants, the majority of the funding given to special education, are fixed by the special edu- cation student popula- tion, and do no necessari- ly reflect "the actual needs of individual stu- dents." The ISA grants must be applied for on an individ- ual student need basis, and -are subject to min- istry approval. "We have to apply for' those grants and by bud- get time (June 2000) we will not know how success- ful those applications have been in total," Mr Trbovich said. Because the Durham District School Board has traditionally funded spe- cial education at a rate higher than the provincial Caesarea was the tar- get of thieves last week, as vehicles in the area were broken into and a Durham Regional Police report that some- time overnight between March 10 and 11 thieves hit a total of seven unlocked vehicles in the village. During that time, between 9 p.m. on March 10 and 8 a.m. on March 11, police report that thieves entered a Chev Lumina van through a rear passen- ger door and ransacked the interior of the vehi- cle, which was parked in a driveway in First St. various tapes and a cell phone were taken, say police. a Thieves also target- ed the Cedar Grove Dr. area during that same time period, say police. J-- numerous items stolen. Thieves target Caesarea Sometime between 9:30 p.m. on March 10 and 7 a.m. on March 11, thieves gained entry to three unlocked vehi- cles. Items taken include a Global Positioning System (GPS) valued at $250, a $100 cell phone, and a wallet containing per- sonal identification, cash and credit cards. a Two vehicles were also entered on Summit Dr. during that same time frame, police say. A $150 cell phone, $450 CD player, and a womens' wallet contain- ing ID, cash and credit cards were taken. - a And, on John St, thieves took a $30 flash- light from an unlocked vehicle during that time. The rash of vehicle thefts were "probably related", say police. average, money from other areas of school fund- ing has been funneled in to the programs, some- times at the expense of programs for other stu- dent groups. Among those are students identified as at risk of leaving school. An extra $5 million has been put in to bolster special education pro- grams, but government- imposed cuts will contin- ue to threaten special ed, said Mr. Trbovich. Transportation is another cost for which the "board is looking to the province to make adjust- ments. "We are confident that the province will make adjustments to reflect changes such as higher fuel costs in that area," Mr. Trbovich said. Right now, due to esca- lation clauses in its con- tracts with bus carriers, the board is picking up some of the tab for fast ris- ing fuel costs felt across the province. When all these factors are considered, Mr. Trbovich and his staff urge caution in light of the funding announcement, made last week by Education Minister Janet Ecker. "The figures appear good at their face value," he said. "We still have a lot of work to do to see how well this particular board will fare." At this point in the process board staff are bracing for cuts. Staff are preparing an initial study for trustees to examine at their March 20 school board meeting. SPRING/SUMMER plelele INCAS Kids RNC 2 RINGAS IN toy (Y1 3