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23 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,M ay 2,2019 insidehalton.com of some of the announce- ments it will require some alterations, in some cases radical alterations, in our operations and in our oper- ational strategies," said Miller. "We have tried our best to project some of those implications and what some of the challeng- es will be for the board." Beyond budgetary chal- lenges, the board faces cur- riculum challenges: not knowing what to plan for and how to prepare staff, said Miller. "We've been in a position of being one of the lowest, or the lowest funded school board in the province and having to do more with less; and now we're going to be asked to do even more with less, potentially $18M less. There is going to be a direct impact on the class- rooms," commented Oak- ville trustee Kelly Amos. Shifting pedagogy to 21st century learning has been a source of pride for the staff, but "authentic learn- ing experiences" come with supervision and safety re- quirements, components a reduced secondary staff may not be able to provide, said Superintendent of Ed- ucation Julie Hunt Gib- bons, citing an example of a chemistry lab. All the work the board has done in producing en- gaging course offerings stands in limbo, said Hal- ton Hills trustee Jeanne Gray. The director wouldn't go so far as to say board-wide events such as the annual Musical Showcase and Hal- ton Skills would be can- celled, but the continuation of such popular events in- duces anxiety and will be difficult to navigate, he said. Does the board have any concerns in its ability to de- liver effective and appro- priate education programs to its students when it is charged with balancing a budget with significant pressures on it, queried Gray. "We have some anxiety around for all students," said Miller. "The class average sizes may have an impact on particular areas of the high school program, around small arts classes, possibly some of those clas- ses that are applied level or essential level, because they're all smaller class siz- es. We believe we've had many challenges over many years, and we've been able to rise to the occa- sion and support our stu- dents, but I would be fib- bing if I didn't say we have an anxiety around what we will be able to deliver to pockets of students and certain cohorts in our board." NEWS Continued from page 22 STORY BEHIND THE STORY We wanted readers to be aware of the potential effects of the province's budget cuts on the day-to-day operations of the HDSB. Oakville Saturday, May 25, 2019 10am- Noon Sheridan College Trafalgar Road, Oakville Oakville Campus REGISTER TODAY walkforlzheimers.ca for more info call 289-837-2310 Delmanor is pleased to welcome Joy Fielding, internationally-acclaimed author, who will read from her new book, All the Wrong Places. delmanor.com This special lecture is free. Please RSVP as space is limited. RSVP (905) 469-3232 • 1459 Nottinghill Gate, Oakville Joy's novels are renowned for suspense-building storylines and unexpected plot twists. All the Wrong Places tells the story of four women who turn to online dating for companionship, only to find themselves in the crosshairs of a tech-savvy killer using a computer app to target his victims. Books will be available for purchase and signed by the author after the presentation. Thursday, May 16, at 2:30 pm Joy Fielding tells the story oftells the story of