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stouflvilk suntribune thursday march 10 2005 13 catholic board pleased with grant to offset school user fees by mitchell brown staff writer sports and youth groups that use york regions catholic schools are getting a break on rent the york catholic district school board announced wednesday it is receiving a 475000 provincial grant a one time sum that will go towar rebates for nonprofit youth arid seniors groups that have booked space in one of the boards 88 schools over the current school year for people such as yuri studin president of the spartacus soccer club in thornhill the announce ment is a big relief it will give us some financial breaks and breathing space because we are being pressed costwise from all sides he said adding his club has been renting the gym at st elizabeth catholic high school for the past 10 years while it was too soon to know if the announcement would have any effect on the fees parents pay to register their children mr studin said it would certainly help his club keep costs under control for the foreseeable future the money is part of a 20-mil- lion initiative unveiled by the province last summer to encour age school boards to open build ings to the community among the fee reductions the 5 fee for two hours of school use charged to youth recre ation programs run by municipali ties has been eliminated the 750 fee for two hours of school use charged to all other community nonprofit groups serving children has been reduced to 350 the 35hour staffing fee charged on saturdays and the 45 hour staffing fee for sundays have been reduced by 10 an hour for all recreation groups serving children and nonprofit seniors groups which had been paying 1250 for two hours of use will now pay 750 for the same amount of time as well school facilities will be made available to community groups for more hours including in the summer in announcing the fee changes thornhill mpp mario racco said he receives many calls from resi dents asking why they had to pay money to use publicly funded buildings in fairness to the school boards theres a simple answer it costs money to clean schools he said but he said he hoped the new fees will go some way in increasing access to schools and encouraging more young people to get involved in sports our schools should be com munity hubs where people can gather to learn participate in com munitybased activities and stay active he said a spokesperson for the york public board said it is in talks with the province and plans to make its own announcement in the near future community and sports groups that have rented space in york catholic schools this year and seek a rebate are asked to call the boards community use of schools department application deadline is apr 1 need help with your hooks our experienced personnel can help you keep your business running smoothly by taking care of all your bookkeeping accounting and tax needs hr block 6188 main st stouffville 9056422927 sunday april 10 10 am 4 pm premiere baiiroom hwy 7 leslie richmond hill everytfuigp for your weddings florists jewellers caterers prizes tfwproxlucer of llll b b h ifiasar m exhibitor space still available cccutixiay 18882117288 ext 224 vvll partvierbhcp jf events mamcjment wvth universaivn idino at tfthm5 lease rates are plus frt air tax gas tax admin registration pst gst for 48 mths 20400lkms per yr 15c ofer mileage charge cash purchase price have all incentives applied rebates assigned to dealer frt air tax gas tax ajminlrst gst extra certifiedfive star dealer ilzi chrysler financial 53r v- w 9mfiiwv v chrysler financial 8280 woodbine avenue marknam south of hwy msstoni steeles ave