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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday July 12, 2006 - 3 Dissenting trustees felt campus plan threatened Catholic board's autonomy By Howard Mozel OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF KEVIN HILL / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER FULL SPEED AHEAD: Halton Easter Seals kids and their families enjoy a cruise on Lake Ontario on Saturday. Regatta raises $30,000 for Halton Easter Seals The second annual Halton Easter Seals Regatta is expected to exceed its $30,000 fundraising goal. The event saw more than 20 Easter Seals children and members of their families treated to a cruise of Lake Ontario by local boaters from the Oakville Club, Oakville Yacht Squadron, Oakville Powerboat Club and Bronte Harbour Yacht Club. The event is sponsored by Mercedes-Benz Oakville Autohaus and raises money for communication devices for families of Easter Seals children living in Halton. Community supporters taking part in the day included Rogers, Sleeman's, Jackson Triggs, Pioneer, Oakville Kiwanis Club, and the Oakville Professional Firefighters Association. Race participants collected pledges from supporters and went on to compete in an afternoon race along the shores of Lake Ontario in a quest to claim Halton's inaugural Easter Seals Cup. Activities off the water included a captain's breakfast, children's face-painting, a barbecue lunch, silent auction and awards presentation. "We are thrilled by the tremendous success of our first Halton Easter Seals regatta," said Susan Smith, District Manager for Halton Region, The Easter Seal Society, Ontario. "Thanks to the unwavering support of local sponsors, community organizations and area boaters, we have surpassed our goal and have given our kids and their families a wonderful summer day to remember." More information on the Halton Easter Seal Society and the Mercedes-Benz Oakville Autohaus Easter Seals Regatta is available online at www.easterseals.org. Halton Catholic District School Board (HCDSB) trustees who recently voted against joining the Halton Regional Campus Project said they did so to preserve Catholic education and stand firm by their decision. Burlington trustee Joanne Matters, for example, listed three major reasons for her decision, one of which is that being part of the joint facility will be more of a "distraction" than a benefit to providing the Board's core mandate, namely delivering quality Catholic education. "Honestly, I can't see how that helps," she said. "It won't enhance us in any way." In addition to saying that funding for the project and the cost savings put forward by Board staff were "speculative at best," Matters also has concerns about the Board maintaining its autonomy ­ especially in an era when Christian values are being eroded or are under outright threat. Proximity to the Board's "secular partners" at the Campus might only further this trend, she added. "We are different," said Matters, maintaining that the Board must remain vigilant to safeguard its distinctiveness. Some differences between Catholic beliefs and secular beliefs simply cannot be reconciled, Matters said, and if it's not careful the Board could be "weakened" by them. "We don't exist to be melted into the secular fabric of society," she concluded. Rather than look to the past, however, Matters said the Board should be excited by last week's decision to move ahead with a stand-alone central administrative facility. That a new Catholic Education Centre is needed is something on which all trustees can agree, she said. The proposed campus is essentially a government office "supercentre" that involves the creation of a major, 540,000 square foot multi-use campus on the Bronte Road property currently occupied by Halton Regional headquarters as well as adjacent land that is up for sale. If it comes to pass without the HCDSB, the site would "As Christians we are called to love our neighbour, but that doesn't necessarily mean accepting all that they do or stand for." Burlington Catholic School trustee Bob Van de Vrande be a central location that includes at least three distinct, stand-alone areas of office space for the Region, Halton Regional Police and the Halton District School Board, plus a shared facility, housing about 1,900 staff. Burlington trustee Bob Van de Vrande agreed with Matters that some issues between the Catholic Board and the other campus partners simply can't be resolved. "There are still differences between the values of Catholic education and those espoused by some of the other partners that are simply not reconcilable with our own values," he said. "As Christians we are called to love our neighbour, but that doesn't necessarily mean accepting all that they do or stand for." Rather than simply look outward for threats, Van de Vrande said some trustees are also looking inward. "Many of us recognize that the threat ­ if there is one to Catholic education - is from within by weakening ourselves or opening ourselves too much to non-Catholic values that Catholic education will eventually implode," he said. All too often, he continued, the board takes the path of least resistance or adopts a politically correct stance that is not always acceptable, so ultimately it comes down to effective leadership ­ or the lack thereof. "Personally I feel that's where our Board is lacking, both at the trustee level and with our (Education) Director (Lou Piovesan) and others," said Van de Vrande, who added that sometimes the Board will "subvert our own policies" for expediency and that too much is done behind closed doors. "My attitude is that if it can't see the light of day it's probably not good," he said. Like Matters, Van de Vrande also had serious concerns about the alleged cost savings to the Board through the Campus plan, which he said are a "10 year projection based on estimates and assumptions, most of which are not even identified in the (staff) report." Van de Vrande also believes that "it is entirely possible that the future Catholic administration facility can be built for a lower cost per square foot and without some of the bells and whistles included in the joint proposal" that may be unnecessary to "delivering quality Catholic education" to students. Van de Vrande characterized the notion that there is no funding available for a stand-alone facility as "misinformation at its worst" and that Campus proponents fail to mention is that there was no funding for the Board's participation in the Campus either. In a recent interview, Halton Hills Trustee Irene McCauley said she had many concerns about the project, one of the main ones being that the province had not committed any money toward it. She also has concerns about how the campus will impact jobs. "I'm worried about the loss of jobs for the employees in each of the partnerships, particularly pertaining to the exterior and interior maintenance of the facilities," said McCauley. McCauley also worries about the need for increased security if court services are amalgamated in the campus as that would result in the transporting of prisoners to the facility and active criminal trials there. "I do believe there will be significant and unforeseen costs and time required to maintain the partnership," said McCauley. McCauley said, however, that she does recognize the school board does need a new facility. To that end she filed a notice of motion - addressed at the July 4 school board meeting calling for the board to immediately look at alternatives to the campus. "We believe we need more time to investigate other options. We feel alternatives have not been fully explained," said McCauley. The fourth trustee who voted against the campus ­ Milton's Rev. David Wilhelm - could not be reached for comment. Our Best Sale Doctor's appointments arranged VISIT OUR EXPERTS TO REVIEW HUNDREDS OF OPTIONS FOR YOU! 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