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PORT PERRY "WEEKEND STAR" FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2000 - 3 Board officials can promise little Parents demand return of after-school programs By Rik Davie Special to the Star Frustrated parents and students are calling on the Durham District School Board to find a solution to the deadlock between the board and its secondary school teachers. Members of several school community coun- cils (SCCs), as well as stu- dent representatives, attended Monday night's meeting to tell school trustees they want extracurricular activities in Durham high schools restored, by whatever means necessary. Most extracurricular activities have been dis- continued since an impasse over contract negotiations led to a strike a year ago last fall. Teachers were ordered back to work under an arbitrated agreement that saw the amount of time they must spend in the classroom increased. Martin Demmers, chair of the Port Perry High School SCC asked what the board will do to restore extracurricular activities Monday night. Craig Burch, superin- tendent for employee relations, told the crowd there is little the board can do to force teachers to participate in non-man- dated after school activi- ties. "I'd like students and parents to understand that we had some tough decisions to make," Mr. Burch said. He said that inade- quate provincial funding has forced the board to make several "hard choic- es." "We were not prepared to take funds out of the elementary (school fund- ing) and give it to sec- ondary school teachers," Mr. Burch said. "For us, that was a very tough - but ethical - decision." Director of Education Grant Yeo said the board cannot force teachers to participate in sports or other programs that are not part of the regular school curriculum. "If the proposed fund- ing levels stay (at the sta- tus quo), other boards will be faced with the same challenge as we had when Wants law against possession by minors Trustee's motion on smoking ban is deferred again By Rik Davie Special to the Star A proposal asking the government to make it illegal for teens to pos- sess tobacco that was tabled almost two years ago has once again been deferred by the Durham District School Board. The letter, put for- ward by trustee Paul Crawford, asks for the provincial government to tighten laws pertain- ing to minors possessing tobacco. Under current laws, teens aged under 19 may not purchase cig- arettes. The letter has returned to the board for action on several occasions, and was to have been looked at by a committee of trustees for last Monday night's meeting. A staff report on the letter says that Michael Perly, executive director of the Ontario Campaign for Action on Tobacco, is against making tobacco possession illegal. He has offered to speak to the board on the matter. The letter was deferred, pending the possible appearance of Mr. Perly at a future board meeting. wr Crawford agreed to the further deferral of action on his letter. The letter states, in part, that "the Durham District School Board seeks the expansion of the law to make it illegal for young people, 19 years and under, to smoke on public streets or properties." Several trustees have expressed concern over the length of time the initiative has consumed at board meetings. The matter will be returned to the board next month. they begin to negotiate new contracts this year," he said. He said there's no way to enforce extracurricular activities in Durham schools. "There is no way, short of the government man- dated decision making these activities part of the teachers' job description, that we could do that," he said. Chris Taylor and Sonya Out with the o Wiseman, co-presidents of the Port Perry High School student council, were in attendance at Monday night's meeting, and came away disap- pointed. "It didn't sound to hopeful in there," said Mr. Taylor. He said that he and his fellow students need to learn more about the issues that have resulted in the teacher-board deadlock. "Not enough students are learned enough in the issues and we need to educate ourselves so that we can actively work towards a solution," he said. Ms. Wiseman agreed that while several teach- ers at Port Perry High School continue to pro- vide extracurricular activi- ties at some level, there is a price to pay. "They (teachers who participate in some activi- ties) get some flak for it, we know that," Ms. Wiseman said. Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation local presi- dent Shelly Paige was pre- sent for Monday night's meeting, but flatly refused any comment when approached after the meeting. aL. mal room for the new! 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