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s 10 ns esr Tyler fransport Ltd. 379 dueen St. E. Acton : ACHILLES in Acton PAUL SIMMONS, PARTS MANAGER 10% 357 Queen Street ©*°) 853-0200 Halton Hills deal (905) 453- 8965 whats Vassive layoffs in Halton schools Magnoglia trees are blooming everywhere. Blossoms are appearing in white, pinks and other variations, all proof | Spring has arrived a cou- ple of weeks earlier than unusal. See photo on Page 4. Members of the Acton Horticultural society renovate Laura Dietrich | Memorial Garden at the | | corner of Main St. N. | and River St. See photo Page 2. 'he conditions at Ac- ton's industrial park | need renovation to at- | tract new business. See | story on Page 7. Kylie Kruk will be} bowling for the Cana-} dian championship in HOPELESSLY DEVOTED: Jenn Johnson (Sandy) and Aaron Scarlett (Danny) get into their parts as they prepare for the sold-out performance of Grease on Friday night. - Frances Niblock photo Schools celebrate learning By FRANCES NIBLOCK The New Tanner Massive layoffs and school closings are very real possibilities as the Halton District School Board grapples with the implications of the Provincial edu- cation funding formula. Layoff notices will be is- sued tomorrow (Friday) to 273 instructional assistants (IAs) employed by the Halton District School Board. The notices cover 134 -- almost half -- of the Board's perma- nent IAs, and 134 term-spe- cific [As who provide support for students with special needs from Kindergarten to OAC. It's unclear what the layoffs will mean to the Acton students who now re- ceive special education. Both Robert Little Public School and Acton High have 2.5 IA positions. Officials at McKenzie-Smith Bennett declined to comment on ei- ther the staffing or layoffs. Last year the Board spent $8 million providing special education programming to 5,260 students in Halton "The layoffs are.adi province's funding model," explained Board chair Ethel Gardiner Wednesday. it "We are in difficulty. We cannot spend dollars that we're not sure we're going to get. That's the bottom line for me," Gardiner said, adding she's "very concerned" with the province's extremely short June 15 deadline to ap- ply for special education funding for September. "When I look at the chil- dren we are servicing in our system, I don't know how we are going to offer the level of service that we have pro- vided," Gardiner said, add- ing children will suffer be- cause of the funding formula. School closures The province's funding formula suggests that Halton has 600,000 square feet -- equal to 10 public schools -- too much space and it will not pay to heat, light, keep id repair. that excess, Gardiner said that par-- ents shouldn't panic about school closures until all of the details are known. The achievements of Acton students, who con- tinue to be "happy, engaged learners" despite uncertainty and low morale outside the classroom over the future of education, will be celebrated next week during the provin- cial Education and Training Week. Halton District School Board chair Ethel Gardiner teachers' success. "Outside the classroom this has been an unsettled year for education," Gardiner said in an interview on Sun- day. "We've had Bill 160, the teacher's protest and now we're dealing with the fund- ing model and it's implica- tions, but when I walk into Halton's schools, nothing has because of the fundamental changes coming from Queen's Park, Gardiner stressed that staff are com- mitted to doing the very best they can in light of every- thing that's going on around them as evidenced by the long list of extra-curricular activities at local schools. Parents and the public will be able to see education LITERATURE LOVERS: McKenzie-Smith Bennett's senior team won two of three trivia rounds at the an- nual library-sponsored Battle of the Books in Georgetown recently. Front, left: Sarah Lewis and Winnipeg. See story and said that now, more than changed." at work as Acton's schools Synnoeve Stockinger. Back, left to right: Cassie ee aes cate the tadcats" a acted ee. tae See SCHOOLS, Page 8 Hunter, oD Colquhoun io) and Hayley Green. Fresh Frozen Lean Fresh LASAGNA coD 6@ STRIPLOIN |GROUND BEEF| BACON 50 or FILLETS eee? STEAKS Yb yb for Vib J AL) while quantities last Banana Mini os Chopped | CREAM PIES | Ayre \ BLACK FOREST | SULT ae Rs SPINACH | 9» Thaw n Serve [Co™ at ACTON ? HEr* HAM A 2 5 Sb 9 each ae $2.99/Ib - 853-0101 4A,