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stouffville suntribunew thursday july 26 2007 19 tory school plan not that simple minister by teresa latchford staff writer inviting faithbased schools into the public education system is the wrong thing to do according to education minister kathleen wynne if the conservatives win octobers provincial election leader john tory says former premier bill davis will be appointed to lead a commission deter mining the impact of inviting faith- based schools to join the public system pilot programs could begin as early as september 2008 have your say do you welcome the idea of inviting and offering public funding to faithbased schools to include them in the public education system go to yorkregioncom and click the what do you think link we want to make the education system inclusive explained pc educa tion critic frank klees who was on hand during mr torys announcement earlier this week why shouldnt all parents have the same opportunities as catholic parents the estimated cost is 500 million which mr klees claims wouldnt require a tax hike the present budget needs to be reorganized to make education a priority he said there is no shortage of revenue it is just how it is currently being spent mr klees said however rearranging the budget wont produce the money because those kinds of funds are just not available ms wynne said we cannot afford to cut programs and shut down repairs to existing scho ols in the public system she added this is what would have to happen to find the money needed there are still many questions sur rounding the conservative proposal and ms wynne says the complicated and expensive process has not been thought through i dont think mr tory knows exactly what he is getting himself into she said i think it is exactly the wrong thing to do parents with children in private schools are parents who dont want their children in the public system ms wynne said adding funds dedicated to education are needed for schools the public system ontario is the only jurisdiction fund ing only one faith mr klees continued he said he doesnt understand how the province can keep justifying a deci sion made in the 1980s to provide fund- kathleen wynne education mjn- ister says theres significant funds would be needed to bring faith- based schools into public system ing to the catholic schools when today the world is much more diverse the society for quality education a charitable organization promoting choice for parents cautiously welcomed the conservative proposal executive director doretta wilson believes such a policy which could pro vide parents with more choice and more competition between schools could be a positive change however concerns surrounding strings attached to such a change might mean participating faithbased schools losing their distinctive nature that would mean an inability to serve their communities she added we are waiting to see to what extent the conservatives will require partici pating schools to submit to the regula tory burden that is crushing publicly funded schools ms wilson said if for example eligible schools are forced to hire provincially certified teachers or use provincially approved textbooks they will be in danger of los ing their uniqueness the proposal so far says faithbased schools interested in joining the pub lic system must meet three conditions teaching the ontario curriculum intro ducing standardized testing and hiring only accredited teachers thus bringing the province one step closer to a stan dardized system mr klees said the invitation does have the poten tial to make the public system stron ger in terms of an increase in student enrollment allowing school boards to improve their performance and attract more students and ms wilson supports that edmontons public board offers funding for faithbased schools and under the boards umbrella all schools have considerable autonomy sh m a little time can make a huge difference in a childs life with several volunteer programs to choose from one is sure to suit your schedule t big brothers yn big sisters of york 9058950289 wwwbbbsyca this message brought to you as a community service of the economist suntribune you want the best for her but your best may not be enough anymore to find out about notforprofit long term care housing and services for seniors in your community connect to wwwoanhssorg were here for you this message brought to you as a community service of the economist sunsuntribune ontario association of nonprofit homes and service for seniors stouffville pentecostal church 6853 main street sunday july 29 2007 1000 am worship celebration jason cheong- kidsville for ages 2 grade 8 tuesday at 700 pm illuminate grade 912 wednesday at 700 pm essence young adults ages 1830 call church at 9056405696 for information wwwspckidsca parkview village 12184 ninth line south stouffville sunday july 29th 2007 joe nemni messianic christian speaker 700 pm i springvale baptist church v m stouffville rd at kennedy rd 9058875651 jwwwspringvaleorg senior pastor bob flemrning youth family jay sandiford student ministries alex street childrens ministries sharon russell counselling services karla kamerman july 29th 2007 1000 am celebration service jordan butcher stouffville united church 34 church st n 9056401163 worship minister rev robert nightingale infostouffvflleucca sunday july 29th 2007 1030 am worship service childrens worship baby fold everyone welcome 3 website wwwstouffviileucca tired of being preached at but still seeking answers srfng spirit to join us and share in the journey pathways is a vibrant and fresh spiritual community helping people find their own answers to todays life and faith questions all are welcome pathways meets on sundays at 1015 am at heritage centre 17 anna russell way unionville more info wwwpathwayschurchca or 6474000673 the anglican parish of christ church 254 sunset blvd stouffville the rev canon robert shields hie rev jason prisley associate 9056401461 sunday july 22nd 8th after pentecost services at 8am 10am nursery church school at 10am services in the great hall in july august rida july 27th floor hockey in the great hall at 700 pm wednesday august 1st barbeque service at 530 pjn bring a salad or dessert for an evening of fellowship come see wwwstouffvilleanglicanca email adminst0uffvlllean9licanca welcome to st james presbyterian church rev katliryn strachan minister 6432 main st stouffville phone 9056403151 email sljamesstounviliebelinetca sunday tuly 29 service of worship 1030 am sunday august 5 combined service of worship at stouffville united church 1030 am wednesday august 8 potluck cong picnic at the home of tack marj carter 5 sunset blvd ballantrae 6 pm a friendly family church f agc bloomington gospel church 13660 ninth line n 9056424414 sunday july 29th 2007 rev peter pallant pastor morning service 1030 am weather permitting there will be a fire side get together for those who wish to take part everyone welcome i sunday service 1000 am ha 13 a f q t a middlcfield collegiate f tv v e o i 525 higjiglen ait mskham bible chapel questions call us at 9054728722 visit us at wwwharvestmarkhamca email us at infoharvestmarkhamca senior pastor deric bartlett rfkllilfe to advertise in the church section please contact tyler duncan at 9052942200