www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Wednesday, November 13, 2013 | 12 Wi-Fi will remain in public elementary schools by Bob Mitchell Special to Oakville Beaver Wi-Fi will remain in all Halton public schools after a bid to have it limited for some elementary students, and banned outright for others, was shot down. Trustees will continue to monitor the health risks as new information is revealed by world and Canadian health experts, but for now most trustees believe there aren't any risks associated with electromagnetic effects of wireless use in schools. "I'm more concerned about the harm turn- ing off Wi-Fi will do to our children than turning it on," Oakville trustee Don Vrooman said at the Nov. 6 Halton District School Board (HDSB) meeting. "How much harm will we do by failing to prepare our students to be leaders in the world where these are the very tools they will need?" Some studies have suggested a possible link between Wi-Fi use and symptoms such as dermatological redness, tingling and burning sensation, fatigue, tiredness, difficulty concentrating, nausea, heart palpitations and digestive problems. Milton trustee Nancy MacNeill urged her peers to limit the use of Wi-Fi in elementary schools as I'm more concerned about the harm turning off Wi-Fi will do to our children than turning it on. How much harm will we do by failing to prepare our students to be leaders in the world where these are the very tools they will need? 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Under her proposal, Wi-Fi would be limited to 90 minutes each day for most students and banned outright for the youngest students and those with learning disabilities. MacNeill wanted Wi-Fi to be turned on for only the first 45 minutes and the last 45 minutes of each day at every school. The trustee also wanted it turned off completely in areas where JK, SK and Grade 1 students are being taught, as well as where students with learning disabilities are located. The trustee agreed international and national health organizations don't have enough information to say Wi-Fi use is safe, but insisted neither do they have enough to say it "isn't safe." "I believe more research is needed and this may take years so what do we do now?" MacNeill posed to fellow board members. "Our position as trustees is to do our best for children and allowing them to sit all day in an environment that cannot be proven to be safe is in my opinion not our best." Before the vote, Jennifer Foster, a Grade 8 student at Sam Sherratt Public School in Milton, urged trustees not to pass MacNeill's motion, saying Wi-Fi was vital to her learning. From working on math projects to doing geography research, Foster said Internet access via Wi-Fi is the most valuable tool she uses each day in school and it's impossible to connect via cable every time she needs to use the Internet. "I don't know how I would be able to complete my studies without the Internet," she said. "It constantly provides new information that we can't get from books." In voting against MacNeill's motion, Halton Hills Trustee Alice Strachan urged board officials to continue to do research into the matter. "We should re-visit this in the future and pay attention and have our antennae up in the future," Strachan said. 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