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+ tat ORT P Volume 135 Number 49 or g's Newspaper of Cn, q TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2001 COPY 75¢ 28 Pages (70¢ + 5¢ GST) Councillors get look at 2002 capital budget By J. Peter Hvidsten Port Perry Star Members of Scugog Council got their first look at a draft of the 2002 Capital Budget Monday during a meeting of the Finance and Administration Committee. Scugog's Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) gave a 15-minute slide presentation to councillors outlining the committee's philoso- phies, objectives and programs. Estimates in the capital budget forecast that expenditures during 2002 will be at $5,166,105, although _ the amount raised by taxes will}. 4 amount to only $621,605. In unveiling the figures, Finance Chair Marilyn Pearce said there may still have to be some trim- ming. In the general fund, the money used to operate the township, the projected budget is $327,000. Some of the larger items included in this fund are the design of a municipal website for $23,000; a document imaging system at $40,000; and the purchase of a Handi-Transit Vehicle at $60,000. The Works Department has one of the highest budgets, requiring more than $1 million to purchase equipment and complete projects. Equipment purchases include two one-tonne pickup trucks for $110,000, and a tandem plow- sander-dump truck estimated at $170,000. Large projects include the Scugog Island Second Access Study for $130,000 and the design and construction of Union Avenue and Wilbur Avenue for a total cost of $386,000. Please turn to Page 9 Marking a milestone Don't take test results too seriously, officials urge By Rik Davie Port Perry Star As results from the province's Grade 3 and 6 testing continue to trickle in, officials with both the public and the separate school boards in Durham Region are advis- ing parents not to take individual schools, or student scores, too seriously. Both the Durham District School Board (DDSB) and the Durham District Catholic School Board (DDCSB) have confirmed that they are having problems with some scoring results from the Educational Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO). The EQAO told The Star last week that "data retrieval problems" had led to a bs. numberof test scores, including the test CHRIS HALL/PORT PERRY STAR The Scugog Choral Society has come up with a unique way to mark its 25th year in show business by offering a special performance which will com- memorate some of the shows they've done over the past 25 years. The show will be held at Town Hall 1873, opens on Thursday and runs from Nov. 22-25 and Nov. 28 to Dec. 2. Showtimes are 8 p.m. except for Sunday matinees which begin at 2 p.m. Here, Michelle Jones, foreground and Linda Sutherland go over a few things before opening night. Tickets are $15 each and are avail- able at Henshall's in Port Perry. att! 4 eo Fl 2 SL ¢ 59 ; £3" > 39, 4 he ary or, ec" LR RE VT 3 3 EE - iE Jar 3 results" from one: entire school in the Catholic board, not being entered or lost in the "scanning process". In spite of the delays, total figures thus far reveal that both boards have shown improvements in the areas of reading, writ- ing and mathematics in both Grade 3 and Grade 6 test results received to this point. But, according to the directors of both boards, results on the part of individual students -- either good or bad -- should not be taken as a picture of over-all devel- opment on the part of a school or a stu- dent. Grant Andrews, director of education at the Catholic board, told The Star that par- ents need to see the tests as a part of the whole student picture. "These results, whether they are good or bad, are a snapshot of the students taken at a particular day under particular circumstances and should no more reflect how a student is doing overall than one test or one quiz or even a student's behav- iour on a particular day," Mr. Andrews said. "We, and the province, use these results as part of an overall way of deciding how a board, a school and students are doing when combined with many other factors. "A good score is not the sign of a stu- dent who needs no extra help any more Please turn to Page 9 a a