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ine lnbune vol 105 no 15 a metroland community newspaper wednesday april 141993 plps5cetit i 1 i 8 i i budget town officials covering backsides tracy kibble staff reporter vital financial information is being withheld from coun cil members by some long time town players to cover their backside accused one local politician this week ward 6 councillor ken pren tice who vehemently attacked the town budget process at its special council meeting last tuesday night said basic information about the goingson in the towns vault are being held back through technical paperwork im really fed up with some players in this place getting resolutions to cover their backside and using that same resolution to justify holding back information from council members prentice said dur ing an interview yesterday prentice is referring to a recent resolution passed by a majority of council which states any official wanting specific information must get approval from other council lors by way of a resolution to obtain it he said that process may be a logical solution for requests to obtain expensive legal advise at taxpayers expense but it shouldnt apply to obtaining inhouse financial information prentice said it is dif ficult to make deci sions about this years budget when he is denied permission to see a full threeyear prentice trend and actual fig ures of the towns complete revenue and expenditures from 1989 to 1992 this denial was con firmed prentice added when he gets past the staff road block of asking him to justify his requests he is then faced with a resolution which requires councils vote on the matter i justify my need then they dangle this resolution in front of me prentice said these resolutions are being used as both a shield and a sword by players who have been around this place a long time and who know the ropes very well i dont think its right prentice said he insisted he cant do a proper job on the budget if he is denied crucial back ground financial information on which to base his deci sions prentice added mayor fran sainsbury was asked by sev eral councillors to cancel last tuesdays special council meeting in which a three per cent tax hike was approved but she refused he said she knew i was going to oppose things at that meet ing it could have been avoid ed there were other options prentice said mayor fran sainsbury is on vacation this week and unavailable for comment cuts step backward ballantrae parents charge board of ed julie caspersen staff reporter the cutting of three teachers from small whitchurch-stouf- markham man killed in friday accident a markham man was killed early friday morning in a single car accident in stouf- fville at about 3 am a 1990 pontiac was trav elling south on warden north of blooming- ton sideroad when it went into the ditch on the west side of the road the car struck an embankment and was thrown 50 metres through the air two men were thrown through the front window and both were taken to york coun ty hospital andrew croft 32 of markham was pronounced dead on arrival at the hos pital while mark middlestadt 32 of toron to suffered head injuries and is listed in fair condition neither man was wearing his seatbelt judy phillips new director appointed by york board julie caspersen staff reporter a richmond hill man won the posi tion of school board ceo in york region bill hogarth superintendent of school operations with the north york board of education has 25 years expe rience in the school system starting as a teacher before climbing the adminis trative ladder hogarth nally stated last year current director bob cressman said he intended to retire as of july 1994 but the board announced thursday cressman would be stepping down this june 30 and hogarth would take the reins a year earlier than origi- hogarth 48 will take over in time for the controversial destreaming plan that he prefers to call a transition starts this fall the onset of mandatory junior kindergarten in 1994 and the growing unrest among parents who want quality education for taxes that are increasing yearly hogarth is the third director the board has hired since its creation in please see page 3 r i a o a 1 fville school is a giant step backwards according to par ents the teaching staff at bal lantrae public school will be three less in september from the current roster of 25 this will double the number of split grades eliminate the primary learning disabled pro gram and revive disciplinary problems at the 344student school these impacts amount to a giant step backwards bal lantrae community and school association president aprj hoeller told the york region board of education a group of 50 concerned par ents waited nearly 90 minutes to address trustees who did not convene an 8 pm public bud get committee meeting until 920 pm last wednesday at a school where 13 per cent of students are learning dis abled the loss of a full time library staff and a full time please see page 3 v