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4- The Oakville Beaver, Friday July 14, 2006 www.oakvillebeaver.com Board chair pushes through porta-pak for Milton school Continued from page 1 possible in 2006-07. Tate said he later realized the new CSP actually calls for the porta-pak addition not to be built until the following school year. "What I hear from people is smoke and mirrors. I would not have voted for the CSP if I thought the porta-pak wasn't going to be built now. I'm not very happy about it and neither are my constituents," Tate said in an attempt to get trustees to consider amending the CSP. He added that during his twoand-a-half years with the board he has become "tired of hearing" from other trustees that certain projects or programs sions), I don't undercan't be accomstand why you are plished. attacking staff. I am Since it was a spevery incensed that you cial board meeting, are attacking staff Tate needed unaniunnecessarily and mous support from unprovoked. He is the his peers to even chair of this board and consider the should behave better." Hawthorne Village Questions then issue. Burlington arose about the timtrustee Debbie ing of the porta-pak, Downs refused at the added cost to the first, but quickly Halton District School CSP and the safety of relented. Prior to Board Chair Paul Tate Hawthorne Village agreeing she had had students with so much some pointed words for the chair. site work scheduled. "If you weren't paying attention Facilities superintendent Gerry (during the board's CSP discus- Cullen told trustees he was expect- ing site plan approval any day for the 10 portable classrooms, but that the addition of a porta-pak - it has its own foundation and is attached to the main school structure - might require a new site plan approval from the Town of Milton. That could delay construction by as many as 10-12 weeks. As for the cost of the porta-pak and its installation, the $1.74 million contract that would need to be awarded could be handled within the CSP, said board business superintendent Steve Parfeniuk. The CSP is a five-year plan for new school construction and additions that requires Ministry of Education approval and funding. The board has as many as 10 elementary/secondary school building projects planned valued at a minimum of $100 million. In the end, trustees agreed to reconsider the CSP. Motions to add the porta-pak to Hawthorne Village in 2006 and to award a contract for its construction both passed by 7-1 votes, with only Downs opposed. After the board meeting, Tate said he isn't sure how the dates mix-up occurred. The chair said he believed he had previously voted for the budgeting aspect of the porta-pak to be put off until 2007 with its actual construction to commence in the fall of 2006. Public school board dips into reserve funds to balance budget Notable in the 2006-07 $380.85 million total budget is the board agreed to dip into its special education reserve fund for $1.12 million to meet upcoming program requirements for special needs students. In addition to dipping into the special education reserve fund, the board also used its remaining capital reserve fund of $1.54 million in order to balance the capital portion of the budget. As well, a debt of $2 million in operating the Centre For Skills Development and Training and the Halton Learning Foundation - boardoperated career workforce/training and school program fundraising groups respectively - is expected to be managed through five payments of $400,000 annually. The board approved the first repayment in the new budget. Trustees also gave approval to a report from the board of directors of the Halton Learning Foundation (HLF). It called for forgiveness of its current debt and attaining the goal of moving from a 1:1 ratio of attracting fundraising dollars to HLF costs to at least a 3:1 ratio in the near future. Other issues of interest trustees wanted clarification on before voting on the budget included the costs to the board of vandalism and the reason for adding learning coaches to schools. A total of $1.1 million was in the '05-06 budget to cover vandalism to school property; the same amount was budgeted for 2006-07. That prompted Burlington trustee Jennifer Hlusko to ask staff for more details. Business superintendent Steve Parfeniuk said almost $100,000 damage alone was done at Brant Hill Public School in Burlington earlier this year, when a car was driven through entrance doors and a hallway. He said the board's insurance deductible is $100,000 which prompted Hlusko to say, "So we are essentially paying for all vandalism," to which Parfeniuk agreed. 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