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Trustees will get frugal less0ii from taxpayers coalition 5 lton Board of Education trustees have accepted the mHalton Taxpayers Coalition’s mutation to a four-hour budget~cutting lesson. By ANGELA BLACKBURN Oakville Beaver Stqfl‘ The board’s 1993 finance committee agreed, on Monday, to meet with the taxpayers coalition for a four-hour dis- cussion on reducing costs and improv- ing the quality of education. No date was set for the meeting. At a previous public meeting the tax- payers coalition asked if its representa- tives could come .to the board to outline budgeting - not specific cuts - and put forth some 50 suggested areas for cuts. Heather Holden, chair of the Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC), which has pleaded for increased or status quo service levels, demanded equal time after trustees agreed to meet with coalition represen- tatives. On Monday, trustees agreed to accept the offer. But their action didn’t go unnoticed by other groups which made presentations tit two previous pub- lic meetings of the finance committee. 21s Lakeshore Rd E, Oakville 5‘ r 5345-3623 ._ Oak Tree Restaurant We invite you to enjoy delicious home style coOking that joins superb quality, great taste excellent prices.- Come enjoy our full range of entrees under $10.00 Book a Reservation and Receive a 10% Discount Banquet Facilities Available A 1993 expenditure budget forecast predicted a 4.65% budget, bringing it to $298.9 million or $13.3 million more than 1992. . More than 80% of the operating expenditure budget is fixed through staffing contracts. Pun Trustees have asked for studies on a 2% and 3% budget increase but board business services superintendent Jerry Jenkins has warned that could entail breaking staffing contracts. Monday’s meeting was added to the 1993 finance committee schedule to discuss presentations made by the pub- lic at two January meetings which the board had advertised were open for public comment on the 1993 budget process. 15th, the next committee meeting. More than 50 people attended each of the two advertised meetings Jan. 11th and 18th and trustees heard nine presen- UPPER MIDDLE 8-: §TH LINE amide Swiss Chalet) OPEN SUNDAY, FEB 14:1'2-6'FM. Velvet and lace boxes with a surnptuods assortment of creamy smooth handmade chocolates â€" Chocolate heartboxes, mint meltaway hearts, giant solid chocolateiearts 8: chocolate heart ean'ings. NEED A CHOCOLATE CHECK-UP? ' SEE THE HEART SPECIALISTS! _â€"VVVâ€"â€" Mgfi' Chocolates a celebration of good taste Those from the Halton Taxpayers Coalition to the Burlington Chamber of Commerce urged spending cuts while others from the Halton Families for Safe Transportation and SEAC lauded financial restraint but demanded increased or status quo service levels. tations. Monday’s meeting was‘ held at the urging of Ward 3 trustee John Scheel :we'lihav' o i answers dontwant to getStucki thatson‘o ' thih IT TOOK MEZOMINIHESE TO 6ErMY HAIR THE #AY I LIKE 849-4546 who had earlier assumed public presen- tations would be debated by trustees but learned unless a trustee requested aétion from them, they would not be dis- cussed. Lane pointed to negative moral, the legalities involved and said the coali- tion, which audited the board the previ- ous year, should have brought the sug- gestion forward before contract negotia- tions were settled Ward 6 trustee Linda Lane reviewed all public presentations, but specifically refuted the many calls to reopen staff contracts. “I believe they’re attacking the wrong issues at the wrong time,”‘said Lane, adding, “The time to tell us to get tough on this issues was pn'or to con- tract negotiations, not after.” Lane noted 1,500 people will be retiring from the board within three years providing an opportunity for 1/2 in. RIVIERA and VERTICALS LEVOLOR® IIIIIII SALE ElegantWindowFashwns ; WINDOWSby LEVOLOR Scheel was successful 1n asking staff I; to attach a budget outline that will :11 explain how the 1993 budget was § reached with its inherent assumptions: predictions and forecasts, to the budget 5’! document’ 5 preamble as well as recog-E' nizing internal and external (public) ~11 input. 3' restructuring wimout disruption of the E education process and without a poten-é tial teachers’ strike. :3 C “I find the process very frustrating,” 5 said Scheel who was looking for a u. “diagnosis, prognosis, objectives tol. strategy” approach to the budget pro-§ cess. The trustee charged trustees appear to jump in at the “strategy” level. “As a group we don’t know what we’re talking about,” said Scheel, adding, “We’re all waiting for the big day, we’ll roll out this thing and we’ll have no answers. I don’t want to get stuck in that sort of thing.” [E01 BRUCE by Steve Nease