The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

PAG E 6, WEDNESDAY. APRI L 15,1l98l1, WIHIBY FREI> RLSS Board to spend $108 million.. Education taxes 9going9 up$4 By MICHIAEL KNELL Free Press Staff The Durham Board of Education will spend $108 million in 1981 to fulfill its mandate. At the board's regular meeting Monday night, the budget was approved with almost debate as presented by finance committee chairman, Trustee Pat Mat- tson (Pickering). The board will spend $56.2 million on the elementary school system and $51.7 million on secondary schools representing a spending in- crease of 14.45 per cent over 1980. Mattson told the'board that "the major component of the total increase in ex- penditures appears in salaries and employee benefits. " Increases in this area total just over $10.2 million or 75 per cent of the total budget increase. BROWN'S FOODMASTER Pop People Pop BROOKLIN 655-4521 8:30 arn w 6 pin Except Thurs. & Fr. Nights tII 9 pin CASE 0F 12-30Ooz BOTTLES $4.99 & dep. CASE 0F 24-10 oz. BOTTLES $449 & dep. ASSORTED FLAVORS The board employs a total of 2,426 teachers with a total student population of 47,647. Mattson attributed the in- crease in the budget to the collective bargaining process pointing out that almost all of its employees are represented by unions or teacher's federations. "Collective bargaining does have a significant ef- fect on the budgetting process," he said. "Wages, salaries and benefits have historically represented ap- proximately 90 per cent of our operating budget." In 1981, salaries and benefits represent 88.8 per EASTER STORE HOURS Open Thurs. night tii 9 pm. CIosed Good Friday Open Saturday as usuai cent of the elementary budget and 87.4 per cent of the secondary school budget. Mattson expressed his concern that "as time goes on, more and more of the board's expenditures are being determined by the collective bargainiflg process rather than through the budgetary one. " "In short, the budgetary and programn concerns shoul&- be paramount in the board's deliberations and, respectfully may 1 suggest that the collective bargaining should be sub- serviant to them, not the other way round," he con- tinued, adding, "We, as elec- ted representatives present and approve the budget and we must be prepared to def end it publically. " Despite this, Mattson said that the Durham Board of Eductaion has "shown leadership in the management of its financial a ffa irs. " He described the board's budgetary attitude as one of "cauti ous conserva tism. " Provincial grants will ac- count for approximately $56.9 million, a $6.6 million increase over 1980. These grants represent 52.71 per cent of the board's expenditures. The balance of about $50 million will be raised from the public school supporting property taxpayers. This levy is also up by $6.9 million from last year or 16 per cent. However, the impact on the local taxpayer in Whitby will le 11.53 per cent. This translates into an increase of $43 for a residential homeowner whose property has an assessment of $4,481. However, Mattson told the board that these increases would have been six per cent higher had the province not come up with additional grants to offset the impact of the controversial equalization factors. The Whitby homeowner assessed at $4,481 will now pay $466 in property tax to the Durham Board of Education. In 1980, the board's levy was $423. Whitby, along with Oshawa, suffered the highest increases in education property tax. The least affected were the townships of Brock and Ux- bridge whose taxpayers will only have to pay $36 more in 1981. "I recognize that this is not particularly good news," Mattson told the board. "However, I want to assure you that ail members of the PAma7£PaflItmJ