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Addition of 11 portables at Montclair by 1997 for expansion too costly, trustees told By ANGELA BLACKBURN Oakville Beaver Staff Opposition continues to surface against the Halton Board of Education‘s plans to send Grade 6 students from Lorne Skuce, Munn‘s and Sunningdale public schools to Montclair Senior Elementary School next September. The opposition surfaced at Monday‘s finance committee meetâ€" ing as opponents of the move pointâ€" ed to the financial impact adding another grade at Montclair would have on the board‘s budget. On March 11th, when the board approved expanding Montclair to include Grade 6â€"8 next fall, trustees were told 11 portables could be required at the school by 1997. North Oakville resident Debbie Scottâ€"McGarva questioned the expense of adding 11 portables when the board is currently strugâ€" gling with controlling tax increases. Using the board‘s budget inforâ€" mation, Scottâ€"McGarva said the cost of moving a portable at ROAR Easter Egg Hunt ROAR, the River Oaks Association of Residents, will hold its first ever Easter Egg Hunt on Sunday, April 4th, at the River Oaks Recreation Centre, from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.. Activities will include a coloring contest for chilâ€" dren under 12 with Mayor Ann Mulvale, Councillor Sean Weir, school trustees Debbie Marklew and Gerry O‘Halloran to act as judges and present prizes. All entries must be dropped off by April 3rd. Also happening is face painting, a giant pinâ€"theâ€"tailâ€"onâ€"theâ€"rabbit, bunny hop line, plus a visit from the Easter Bunny. Volunteers are needed, call 842â€"8692 for information. FITNESS « FUN « SELFâ€"DEFENSE DAY EVENING CLASSES Between Dorval 4th Line 407 SPEERS RD. UNIT NO. 6 $16,000 and the cost of debenturing for new portables is $35,000 to $40,000 each. She noted that on numerous occasions superintendent Bob Parry admitted the board was planning for overcrowding early and could manâ€" age without boundary changes until 1995. "It‘s hard to see the logic of such a costly decision which could easily be deferred until September 1995," Scottâ€"McGarva told trustees. She then pointed to the board‘s request of teachers and staff to donate a day‘s pay to help reduce the millrate impact on taxpayers in 1993. "I believe you have a moral obliâ€" gation to defer the decision from the 1993 budget," said the resident. Scottâ€"McGarva told the Beaver she has no problem with the threeâ€" grade program change at Montclair, but she doesn‘t want it to come at the expense of quality education, program and facilities for the stuâ€" dents. Scottâ€"McGarva was among a group which appeared before the board opposing the change. The resâ€" ident and others claim that while the board had a focus group acting as a sounding board for the proposed changes, that group was not repreâ€" sentative of most parents. She said many parents only found out about the proposed changes by means of a letter sent home in late January. The board held a public meeting on the issue Feb. 2nd and reported a "strong indication of support for Grade 6 moving to Montclair, movâ€" ing all at one time and moving in September 1993." Scottâ€"McGarva said the ward‘s trustee Debbie Marklew eventually voted for the changes saying she didn‘t want to split her ward over the issue. NO OVERCROWDING Translating the board‘s figures into percentages, Scottâ€"McGarva said none of the schools would be overcrowded in the near future if the Grade 6 students remained at their current schools. She admitted overcrowding would occur at significantly smaller studentâ€"number rates at most of the schools by 1997 in comparison to the 11 portables predicted for Montclair by 1997. On March 11th, area resident Michael Patrick said the boundary changes sending Grade 6 students to Montclair transfers portable probâ€" lems from Munn‘s, the school where a large number of growthâ€" related student numbers are slated to attend, to Montclair. The board has requested funding for a northeast Oakville school, but it hasn‘t been approved by the Ministry of Education. Parry recentâ€" ly said he doesn‘t hold out much hope in the immediate future. Enrollment projections in north Oakville show a growth of approxiâ€" mately 700 students by 1997 to be accommodated in Lorne Skuce, Munn‘s, Montclair and Sunningdale (now a French Immersion/English school). Many of the students will be coming from areas which don‘t yet have their own schools in the north and east and have been designated to attend Munn‘s on Sixth Line. Prominent Travel rorrull Professional Upper Middle Rd, Shopping Centre Service Call 1011 Upper Middle Road 849â€"874 7 s .None of the board figures include the accommodation of Junior Kindergarten which could become mandatory by provincial edict in the near future. Earlier concerns were registered by Shirley Tontini on behalf of the French Immersion parents at Sunningdale who had called for a delay, perhaps to weigh the possibilâ€" ity of a K to Grade 8 program at Sunningdale, in light of French resource scarcity at Montclair. She was told that would be too costly and wasn‘t a realistic expectation. A twoâ€"thirds majority is necessary for the board to reopen discussion on the issue should a trustee ask for it to be reopened.