PAGE 4, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28, 1984, WHITBY FREE PRESS whitby wf Voice of the County Town Michael lan Burgess, Publisher - Managing Editor The only Whitby newspaper independently owned and operated by Whitby residents for Whitby residents. F L Published every Wednesday by M.B.M. Publishing and Photography Inc. Phone 668-6111 The Free Press Building, 131 Brock Street North, P.O. Box 206, Whitby, Ont. MICHAEL KNELL Community Editor CONWAY DOBBS Advertlslng Manager Second Class Mail Registration No. 5351 Education budget a prime example of fiscal and political irresponsibility We know that we're beginning to sound like a broken record, but we're going to keep questioning the financial practises of the Durham Board of Education until one of our elected of- ficials has the guts to effect change for the better. One the surface, the 6.81 per cent increase levied against property taxpayers doesn't sound all that serlous. However, 6.81 per cent works out to be an average Increase of $35.60. When com- pared to the Town of Whitby's 1984 increase of $7.20 and the Reglon of Durham's $12.08, this amount Is staggering. The board's tax increase is five times that im- posed by the town and three times greater than the region's or nearly twice that of the town and the region combined. It should be pointed out that both the town and the region faced simillar problems as the board in terms of receiving provincial government grants, enjoyed the same assessment growth and have the same worries concerning provincial appor- tionment guarantee grants. In our opinion, the board's budget is unjustifiable especially when combined with a few otherfacts. The Durham Board of Education will hire more than 112 new staff this year alone. These people will be employed in new programs, they will not replace retiring or resigning staff. No other level of municipal government ,will implement new programs this year. Any staff they hire will be to replace vital personnel already on the job. Whitby Trustee Ian Brown, chairman of the board's finance- committee, even admitted that the board could have survived without these new positions although he was quick to add that if they weren't hired he felt the board would not be providing an adequate level of service. While this newspaper,.along with concerned parents and potential employers, have some qualms about the quality of education in ttis province we do not believe that an expenditure such as this is an act of fiscal responsibility ... especially when the Durham Board of Education will not build over 112 new classrooms this year. Along with this financial irresponsibility, this newspaper witnessed an act of political Irrespon- sibility as well last Monday night. It took 24 minutes of public, full board discussion to approve the budget. Those trustees who spoke did not address the budget or the financial difficulties facing it today or tomorrow, but instead had a "slap-on-the-back" session when they commended Brown and themselves for doing a wonderful job and exercising great restraint. One trustee, David French, even told the board that he was glad to see that the perception that "this is a cheap board, this is a board that won't spend, is being laid to rest." This trustee also said that the board's primary responsibility was to the students. Poppycock! The board's primary responsibility is to the elec- torate. Their masters are the people who elected them to office. It is about time that the trustees started behaving like elected officiais and not like glorified bureaucrats. Whlie it is true that the electorate wants a decent, efficient education system it is this newspaper's belief that the ratepayers don't want ta pay an arm and a leg for it. But It seems that the board is ready ta spend our money willy-nilly ta Implement programs and services that the com- munity as a whole may not even want. The board seems oblivious to the fact that we are living in an age of restraint. Our trustees will spend $150.5 million this year, that's $7 million more than last year. When discussing these kinds of figures, a total expen- diture increase of 5.21 per cent does not seem so small. We do not believe that the unemployed or those or fixed incomes will see this budget as one of restraint. This budget, and therefore these tax and ex- penditure increases, was the brainchild of Whitby Trustee lan Brown. It seemed that every member of the board went out of his or her way to com- mend him for a job well done. Frankly, we don't see it that way. Brown's efforts were not objective, they did not appear to take into primary consideration the rights of the taxpayer or the financial burdens im- posed by difficult times upon them. Most of the budget deliberations took place in secret behind cIosed doors, and hence were not subject to public scrutiny. We also believe that Brown is too close to the education system. He is ernployed by a neigh- bouring board of education as a consultant. His views are conditioned by his experience In the education system. He Is not an impartial outsider looking in. He does not appear to be able to put aside his personal or professional views. This newspaper has come to the conclusion that those elected to the board should not be educators. They should be citizens first. They should come from outside the system and should balance the naturally biased views of educators. The 1984 Durham Board of Education budget is an act of financial and political Irresponsibility that this newspaper hopes is still in the minds of local residents when election time rolls around next year. 't MIR 77,