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6 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday February 25, 2009 www.oakvillebeaver.com OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: NEIL OLIVER Vice ­ President and Group Publisher of Metroland West The Oakville Beaver is a division of Media Group Ltd. DAVID HARVEY General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution SARAH MCSWEENEY Circ. Manager Bad start to next school year Halton's public and Catholic school boards have no one but themselves to blame should angry parents come pounding on their doors in the not-too-distant future. Both boards last week approved school year calendars that will see Halton elementary and high school students return to class the week before Labour Day (Sept. 7). The reason for the change is simple. After subtracting Christmas and March breaks, all the statutory holidays and six provincially-mandated professional activity days from the calendar, there are only 192 days left to teach Halton students between Labour Day and June 30, 2010. The Ministry of Education requires a minimum 194 instructional days for Ontario schools. The resulting outrage from parents -- many of whom have said they've already made summer vacation plans that extend through the last long weekend of the summer -- is justifiable for several reasons. The early response from parents indicates that families were not consulted in the process that resulted in the unprecedented 2009-10 school calendar being approved last week. As the single-largest stakeholder group impacted by the decision, parents and families deserve to know why they were ignored. To be fair to both boards, committees that studied the school calendar issue did include parent representatives from some school councils. At a time when politicians speak of the importance of transparent and accountable government, some parents feel Halton's school boards didn't provide nearly enough advance notice that this year's summer break would need to end earlier than ever. School board staff should have known -- before last week -- that Labour Day's late position on the 2009 calendar, combined with last year's addition of February's Family Day and the Ministry of Education's addition of two additional professional activity days in 2006 would make squeezing the mandatory 194 instructional days into the calendar difficult, if not impossible. It doesn't seem plausible the school boards could have been caught unaware of the logistical difficulty the next school year would bring. By not holding a more open consultation about the calendar issue, some families have been left with the perception the boards were trying to sneak through a radical change to the school year calendar. If that was the plan, they have failed miserably. The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, ON, L6K 3S4, or via e-mail to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Town missed opportunity on Petro Canada Trail Being a life-long resident of Oakville, particularly in Bronte, I am very disappointed to learn of the decision of the Town of Oakville's decision to use, or should I say waste, $110,000 of tax payers' dollars, to put the Petro Canada Trail back to its original state. My family and I were looking forward to not only continuing our long walks on the trail, but also to have the opportunity to Rollerblade or bike along a paved path without any mud. As long as I can remember (over the past 40 years), the path has always been used by pedestrians. I can even remember cross-country skiing along the corridor as a child. There is a stated concern about the impact on migratory songbirds and that these birds will leave the area, never to return. Further harm will come to these birds as they will have no where else to go. I note that development of the area, not only what occurred many years ago, but the recent development of the Lakeshore Woods residential area, has not affected the birds. I note that the birds and other wildlife (deer) have remained in the area and have continued to return to the area, regularly. I am not a bird expert but, even the Halton Conservation Authority has stated that because of the existing trail made by human traffic, there will not be a significant impact on these birds. There has been a statement made that removing grass and encouraging human activity will cause the birds to die. Again, I am not an expert, but the birds have been returning to the area regularly as far as I have been able to see. As far as the cutting of trees, I walk the Bronte trail system everyday with my dog (and yes, I do scoop). As far as I know, there were no mature trees cleared along the Petro Canada Trail. There was, however, much to my liking, a trail cleared through the forest on the west side of the corridor, so that the new community of Lakeshore Woods could also enjoy walks in the woods. Was there opposition to clear cutting the previously wooded area to make way for the Lakeshore Woods neighbourhood? There is some 30 kilometres of paved asphalt path that runs parallel to Lake Ontario through much of Toronto. As well, there is a beautiful paved path and park system that runs from Spencer Smith Park in Burlington all the way to Stoney Creek. It is clearly visible to see that there are many different types of birds in these areas regularly. They have not been driven away by human traffic. I can't believe these days, when so many people are health conscious and trying to improve physical activity, that a few are so worried about the bird population in a small portion of Bronte. As far as the $110,000 for topsoil and seeding, what is the Town going to do -- put up yellow tape so that no one walks on the trail until the grass regrows? You can see how well the snow fences worked keeping people from walking the trail this winter. Money has already been spent digging up the trail and putting down screening. Why are we going to do any more damage? Why don't we leave it as is and let it grow over naturally? Over time, let's see what happens. Don't waste any more of Oakville taxpayers' hard-earned money. ANNIE LEONARD Upset by early start to school year I was shocked to read that a decision has already been made concerning the start date for the 2009 fall term. I am extremely disappointed that this decision appears to have been made without any consultation with parents (taxpayers) and was announced via the media. For the past number of years, at least 25, school has always started following Labour Day. Based on that history, we have booked a vacation ending Sept. 6 and will now have to cancel. I am baffled as to why any other options were dismissed without some dialogue with stakeholders. GRAHAM BRAND This week's poll This week's question is: Do you agree with the new green legislation that requires home sellers to get an energy audit for $300 before selling their home? · Yes · No To vote, visit oakvillebeaver.com Last week's poll: Should Canada : · pull its military mission from Afghanistan in 2011; 34.78% · extend its military mission beyond 2011; 21.74% · get out sooner. 43.48% Total votes: 69 votes The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone 416-340-1981.Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate.The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline.