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2 - PORT PERRY "WEEKEND STAR" FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2000 Trustees see Bill 74 as attack on school boards By Rik Davie Special to the Star The Education Accountability Act passed into law last Tuesday has Durham District School Board trustees worried, and teachers angry. Scugog trustee Bobbie Drew warned her colleagues Monday night that the bill, which gives sweeping powers to the minister and the education ministry over the actions of local school boards, should be a warning sign to boards across the province. "This bill gives the minister (Janet Ecker) the right to investigate trustees, where there is even an appearance in the minister's estimation, that they may be planning something not in agree- ment with government regulation," said Mrs. Drew. "This law continues the erosion of the public education system by this govern- ment, and effectively takes the ability to govern at a board level away from the elected rep- resentatives of the people. I find this most disturb- ing for all of us in education." The bill includes strict guidelines for trustees in fol- lowing ministry policy about edu- cation funding, D and imposes few penalties for trustees who fail to follow the tight fund- ing guidelines and other regulations. Mrs. Ecker backed off from mandato- ry extracurricular (now called co-curricu- lar) activities, a stipulation originally included in the bill, but has said that a club may also be wielded if needed. Most teachers in Durham high schools have refused to take part in after-school activities for the past two years in protest of classroom teaching time requirements they say are unreason- able. Uxbridge-Brock trustee Nancy Loraine echoed Mrs. Drew's feelings on the latest of the sweeping changes to education imposed by the Harris gov- ernment during its tenure. "This is just the latest step in the cen- tralization of power by this govern- ment," Ms Loraine said. "They have taken the guts out of the board's ability to deliver quality education to the pub- lic." She sees Bill 74 as the death knell for school boards. "Absolutely, yes, | see this as a move towards making it impossible for boards to function and do their jobs, and a move towards the eventual dissolution of boards in Ontario," said Ms Loraine. "This will, in the long run, deprive the public of Ontario its only source of direct input into education, and take away the most basic level of interactive government available to them," she said. "1 don't know, given the criteria under which trustees will have to oper- ate in the future, how we will get quality candidates for the trustees' posts in future elections." Mrs. Drew agreed. "It will be harder and harder to get good people to do this job for $5,000 a year when, if the ministry finds you have attempted to do something which goes against government policy, you will be fined the entire amount of your salary," said Mrs. Drew. "It will breed a climate of inaction that can only hurt education in the future." & Men's y, Rockport, Clarks DU M N S & Florsheim Shoes Value to $150. ON SELECTED STYLES QQ 200) $7 3124 RE 0 CQ 01 OC AI BAY 5 (01 ON) IN ACT) Te [aed 3 § ALA BA ckson Rd. | J mile N. of Thi TAILORS - OSHAWA CENTRE (Across from Reitmans) PILLAR GERANIUMS A SIZE FOR EVERY MAN itete CARRY SUIT SIZES FROM RA ¢ - SA, | "i Sun. 12-5 Mon.-Fri. 10-9 Sat. 9:30-6 VEER Value to $275. 0) A\YVI HO) od HAY (905) 655-441 1 ANNUALS CNT Held Mele} 8 AM. - 8 PM. DAILY 60,00). 9.1, [118 & PINE BARK NUGGETS