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Trustees to î j decide where boundaries lie TR N MSIN ::0.i,3z Is~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~~~~PEETTV IF MehnclYsi lcrcaO ui1wo li? 6OCucIIId 3 DONa 'TWt Give ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ MITEAC usEIA 20RIC miuesadknwfo ue! *908881R 957.60 InozIDlrnmuo.o w.atflusiso.o FULL SERVICE AUTO REPAIR & OlAUM NE1W & U TIRES AM DISCOIIT PRICES 519-929-9191 tony@tirediscounter.ca] [asenn W tr ofi q _ aipr Seve-Milton, okv Geou rgew and h e udo u 05.878.2341 x214 By Tim Foran METROLAND WEST MEDIA GROUP Trustees at Haltons two English school boards will have ta decide at their next public meetings on whether to reduce their own numbers by one and which gea- graphic areas the elected members will represent start- ing December 1, 2010 and for the following four years. The Provinces Ministry of Education has set a dead- line af April 3 for boards ta submit the information so that local municipalities can prepare for the upcaming municipal election October 25. The public school board, which currently bas il trustees, will likely have ta decide whether its fair for Halton Hilis, with an estimated population of 59,000, ta continue ta have two trustees while fast-growing Milton, which reports a 2009 population of 81,000, bas only one. 11 believe the (population) numbers we have gener- ated will warrant a second trustee," said Multons cur- rent public school trustee Donna Danielli. [he twa public school trustees in Halton Hilîs did- n't return calîs for comment as of press time. While the population af Georgetown and Acton is expected ta remain stagnant for at least the next four years due ta a lack of water capacity, Miltons popula- tian will graw by an average ai 5,000 ta 6,000 per year aver the next four years, according ta Haltan planning statistics. "The workload is just going ta get beavier," said Danielli, whos planning on running again. She said the trustee would have ta be taken from Halton Hilîs. Bath Burlingtan and Oakville, which have populations estimated at under 175,000 each, have four public schoal trustees. Unlike previaus election ycars, adding an extra trustee ta the board is not an option. As per a new reg- ulatian (412-00) under Ontanios Educatian Act, school boards can't increase the number ai trustees they AIl have for the next municipal term. Howcver, to ensure pruper representation and accommodate population shifts within thbe region, bath scbaol boards have other options available, including reducing their number of trustees by one, re-distribut- ing the existing amaunt ai trustees from one cammu- nity ta another, or creating new geographic boundaries. As bath boards represent the entire regian, tbey don't have ta choase boundaries that coincide with the ward boundanies for councillors in the lower-tier municipalities, thaugb that bas been the tradition. For example, unlike in Burlington, Catholic scbaol board trustees in Oakville bave chasen ta be elected ta serve the entire Town, or "at-large," for the past thre elections, said 30-year trustee Alice Anne LeMay The four trustees in that cammunity have decided ta keep that approach again for the upcaming election, sonîething the entire board will have ta ratify at its next meeting Tuesday 1I kind ai want ta go back ta the ward split," said Lemay 1I think people feel more secure if t.hey have ward representation." LeMay, wbo plans ta run again, said ber tbree cal- leagues preferred the at-large format and she went along with tbem as she saw no pressing reason ta oppose tbem. "If you're not gaing ta win a battle, why wauld yau start a war?" she said. Currently, three ai Oakville's four Catbalic trustees live south ai the QEW none living in the growing area of Oakville west of Trafalgar and nortb of the QEW *see PUBUC on page A22 Bïschoff Eastern Ave., cton, Ontario L7à 2Eb ICS