Vol. 13, No. 5 Wednesday February 2, 1983 20 Pages w w a Otter Creek Sohool ln Wh itby is one of five schools under construction that may be investigated by a Burling- ton engineering firm for safety standards. The Durham Board of Education is conducting a full review of con- tract procedures and safety standards this month. - Free Press Staff Photo Board investigates safety, contracts The'burham Board of Education has initiated a complete investiga- tion of safety standards and contract proce- dures in buildings con- structed in the last five years. In a prepared state- ment last week, the board announced it is continuing its investiga- tion into "the circum- stances surrounding the conviction of Mr. George Stanford, mana- ger of maintenance and construction for the board, on income tax evasion". The investigation in- cludes: • a complete audit of purchasing and tender- ing procedures a a review of construc- tion and maintenance procedures in the period 1977-1982 to determine whether any supplier re- ceived preferential treatment e an investigation by a Burlington engineering firm of a sample of con- struction projects to en- sure the new buildings conform to safety stand- ards Board chairman Ruth Lafarga said last week she has no reason to believe safety standards have not been upheld, but wants to make sure no shortcuts were taken in construction. Otter Creek school in Whitby, scheduled to open in the fall of 1983, is one of five schools in the region now under con- struction. Lafarga said the in- vestigation will satisfy the board and the public that proper procedures and standards have been applied to all con- struction projects in the five-year period. The board's financial auditor and the engineering firm are expected to submit reports to the board by the end of February. The prepared state- ment released by the financial committee says the internal finan- cial controls of the board have been "quite satisfactory" over the past five years based on audit standards used at the time. The current investiga- tion of contracting pro- cedures was prompted by the conviction of George Stanford in December of income tax evasion. Stanford pleaded guilty to withholding more than $30,000 in taxes on unreported in- come. The federal Depart- ment of Revenue repor- ts that Stanford "receiv- ed payments from con- tractors in return for services in respect to contracts with the Durham Board of Edu- cation". Stanford was fired by the board following the conviction, and an in- ternal investigation into the board's contracting procedures was insti- gated. Durham Regional police said recently they would take the matter to criminal court if "satis- factory evidence is ob- tained of any criminal Contract negotiations between the Durham Board of Education and secondary school teach- ers continue to flounder as they go into the sixth month. Teachers voted yes- terday on an offer of 7.9 per cent salary increase by the board. At press time the results of the vote were not known, but it was expected the teachers would reject the offer. The rocky negotia- tions took a turn for the worse last week when the board refused to recognize the powers of offences". So far, however, neither the board nor the police have indicat- ed that such evidence has been found. an independent media- tor appointed last fall to help arbitrate the dis- pute. Graeme McKechnie, a Toronto economics professor, was called in last November while the two sides were still negotiating under Bill 100, the legislation that governs negotiations. Since then, the gov- ernment has passed Bill 179, the controversial restraint legislation that linits wage increases to 9 per cent in the public sector. See page 2 Teacher talks still flounder