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economist suntribune education saturday sept 28 2002 board needs more cash task force told by mitchell brown staff writer balanced books do not necessarily mean a balanced education thats the message the york region district school board sent the education equality task force friday when chair person bill crothers and vicechairperson susan plamondon appeared before the fivemember panel in barrie the task force headed by university of guelph president mordechai rozanski is travelling across ontario to gather public input on how the provinces education funding formula introduced in 1998 has affected the quality of public education during three days of hearings in toronto last week the task force heard from practically every public and sepa rate school board in the gta all of whom argued the funding formula didnt take into account the needs of rapidly growing suburban school boards the board agrees strongly with the principle of funding that is based on per pupil allocation ms plamondon told the panel per pupil funding ensures resource decisions are focused on the needs of stu dents it also recognizes the importance of equality of opportunity for all students to access quality educational programs and services however she said the governments current focus on perpupil funding does nt contain sufficient funding to adequate ly address many of its stated priorities among the boards areas of concerns teacher salaries because the ministry of educations formula hasnt provided for staff salary increases the board says it will have to make a signifi cant allocation of funds from other areas to give its teachers a raise english as a second language although almost 8500 elementary stu dents in yorks public schools come from nonenglish households only 2700 stu dents meet the provinces funding criteria for esl services as a result the region has had to cut the number of esl teachers here in half since 1998 and fewer students are getting the help they need we are concerned about this as a potential human rights issue ms plamondon said special education the board ms plamondon said has received the same intensive support amount isa funding from the province for the past four years a figure that has not kept up with the growing number of students with special needs school administration the boards rapid growth has led to a scramble for principals and viceprincipals especially at the elementary level ms plamondon told the task force the current funding formula with its focus on classroom spending has had an extremely adverse effect on leadership capacity within our schools guidance services for elementary stu dents have all but disappeared in our schools she continued as well as school library services and library staff the catholic board which made its presentation in toronto last week touched on several of these issues as well with chairperson elizabeth crowe saying it has taken every creative bone in our bodies to meet their obligations with everdiminishing resources the full day of presentations was the task forces final day of public consulta tions dr rozanski is expected to have his final report ready for the government in november we are concerned about cuts to english as a second language programs as a potential human rights issue susan plamondon vicechairperson of the york region district school board family dentistry dr sheldon lazier dr waseema ali ed edwards dd family dentist family dentist denturist dental care for the entire family new patients are always welcome evening and saturday appointments are available 6212 main street just east of the train station stouffville 905 6427474 sps v marwiam theatre for performing ms 20022003 frgfesslohal eutertainment season see the shows contest starts september wwwcouniry953com watch for your contest flyer in the mail ouwct v m sanaa i the drawer boy oct 30 f nov 2 2002 one of the 10 best plays of the year tickets 3050 800 pm oct 3031 nov 1 230 pm 800 pm nov 2 cathy jones oct 25 and 26 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