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6 - PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, March 15,1994 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice " oe TE Eee WEE TRE ERE Ree TREE TREE TT a TRE TT TTR TIRE TNR IRN TINE TTT TERETE Te Te WE WE RE Te Te Ree Tee Te TR Re me TEE Te TE BE Di PORT PERRY STAR TORIAL Editorial Comment Losing Our Voice in School In a close vote, Durham Board of Edu- cation trustees voted to trim their ranks by 25 per cent. In the process, the num- ber of trustees representing Scugog was shaved by 50 per cent. And with the cuts, comes the fear that education will suffer in the northern Dur- ham communities. Education Minister David Cooke asked the school boards in January to make the cuts as an indication that they were seri- ous about cutting expenses. To date, 23 of the 172 boards have reduced their numbers. A total of 61 trustees have been chopped dropping the number from 2,129 to 2,068. Last week, Durham trustees cut the number of trustees at the public school board from 20 to 15. Scugog's representation drops from two to one, Oshawa from seven to five, Whitby and Ajax from three to two. Pick- ering remained at three, and Uxbridge and Brock remained at one. By slashing the five positions from the board in time for the fall election, it is esti- mated that the savings will be $68,000 per year. And while $68,000 is a significant amount of money, it is a drop in the buck- et when considering the board's overall budget. Scugog's two trustees are concerned about the quality of representation in the northern communities once these cuts are made. According to the trustees, the three northern communities cover 66 per cent of the geographical area in Durham, while only having 20 per cent of the rep- resentation on the board. Historically, the northern communities are neglected in terms of representation on the various boards and governmental levels. On the regional government level, the three northern communities have two representatives each totalling six out of the 31 total positions. The trustees should be commended for making the necessary sacrifices to shave down the burgeoning expenses of educa- tion. But while the board has gone to great lengths to save the taxpayers money, the real losers are the northern communities. It is understood that all must suffer when cuts are made, but the pain has not been shared equally. We have lost another voice in the meetings rooms during de- bates and with it will go the standard of education to which we are accustom. ow WES THE GOVERNMENT EXPECT Us 10 FUNCTION -- A 507 Cur BAK, -< a --_--N ue'. HetiBA-}Eu BUT iWnGINE HOW MUCH THE CMT iN JIALF WOULD Wukt [3 ERE 6, ONL ( Wh STAY i bs J 1's NEADS. YOU Lose | Random Joifings PER pasteurized air Cit a CARADS DRY Outside contractors in Durham a concern To the Editor: I am writing to you and other editors in the Durham sgjon. The Durham Regional Labour Council wants to bring to the attention of your readers their concerns about outside contrac- tors doing business in the Durham Re- on. It is felt by many members of the council and its affiliated locals, that these contractors leave very little of taxpayers monies within the region when local workers are not hired by them, and they continue to bring in workers from outside the region. As some, one in seven members are out of work within the region, they are not doing anything to help alleviate the unemployment problem within the region by A in outside workers. These workers live here, pay taxes here, and buy items from local busi- ness within the region to help keep the economic cycle in motion. Whereas, outside workers contrib- ute very little to the local economy when local taxpayer's dollars are spent on local public works only to have monies paid out of taxpayer's dol- Turn to Page 7 by J. Peter Hvidsten HERREMA WANTS ANOTHER TERM It was good to hear that Regional Chairman Gary Herrema is feeling well enough, after fighting blood cancer for the past two years, to ann-ounce this week he will ask to be reappointed as chairman following this November's election. The fact Gary is feeling better is not only great news for his family friends and politi- cal colleagues, but it's also good news for Durham, especially the northern sectors of the region. Gary has been a strong supporter of the north, and for good reason. He's a self-made politician who operated the family farm outside Uxbridge before entering into politics. Rising from the ranks of Uxbridge councillor to mayor and then regional chairman has made him the | diverse politician he is today. Gary's just as comfortable sitting in a cof- fee shop with farmers or factory workers as he is at Queen's Park dealing with the premier, or cabinet members. He's respected by his colleagues at all lev- els of government, which was shown at a recent Herrema Roast, and at the same time has an uncanny knack for making grass- roots people feel important, He's a tough adversary, fighting for what he believes is right, and he fights for the rights of the majority. This sometimes means having to take on the wrath of spe- cial interest groups, but Gary does this with determination and style, not worrying about what they will think of him personally. An article in a Toronto newspaper last week quoted Ajax Mayor Jim Witty as say- ing Herrema has done "an outstanding job and is more effective at half-s than some others would be at full throttle." We couldn't agree more! Yes, a healthy Gary Herrema is good news and the fact he's contemplating another term in office is a positive sign for Durham. CUTTING TRUSTEES The Board of Education continues to chop away at it's budget in an effort to keep tax increases to a minimum this year. Their latest effort came last Monday night when they voted to cut five trustee posi- tions from the board in November's election. This move produces a good news - bad news scenario for Scugog Township. The good news is, the board is cutting at every level in trying to reduce spending. They've attacked the budget vigorously cut- ting in all areas including staff, busing, pro- grams and now trustees. But the bad news, especially for Scugo is the township will only be allowed to elect one representative next fall. Scugog trustees, Joyce Kelly and Bobbie Drew have served Scugog residents well and the fact we will oo J one voice at the board level is reason for concer... The amount of money saved by slashing five trustees is insignificant in the overall budget, but from a political point of view the board looks good in the eyes of the pub- lic as it shows nothing is sacred in their cuts. Both Scugog trustees have indicated they will run for office again this fall and either one will represent us admirably. Knowing both these women well, it's a decision I don't look forward to making. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The Port Perry Star encourages its readers to make use of the letters to the editor column to express their opinions and viewpoints on just about any subject, as we feel a lively letters column will help make this a better community newspaper. We insist, however, that all letter writers sign their name and include a phone number for verification. Sorry, anonymous letters will not be published unless The Star believes it to be in the best interest of the public. We also reserves the right to edit letters with respect to their length, content or libelous comments. CC Cohn ------ he a. ~ REAR Tt ae me ay, -