NV fine arts programs face axe, board official warns $500,000 required now to save NV District 44 music classes THE SOUNDS of silence will soon echo through North Vancouver schools if the North Vancouver District 44 School Board (NVSB) fails to find at ieast $500,000 to maintain its music programs, a school board official said this weck. District 44 is currently facing a budget deficit that could hit $10.5 million by September. And while the schuvol board has yet to determine which areas of its budget will be cut, the district's fine arts programs have already been given a fow priority on the budget list. Bob Rankin, NVSB’s_ coor- dinator of visual and performing arts, said District 44 will lose its award-winning band and_ strings programs if it does not find at least $500,000. “There is a sense of frustration. I’ve been working on ways to get funding from other sources because it will not be coming from the budget,’’ said Rankin. ‘‘We need at least $500,000 to maintain the band and strings programs."’ He added that he has received numerous phone calls from people worried about the threat of cuts to the visual and performing arts programs. The clementary band and string program is among those facing the axe. Rankin said 1,791 students cur- rently in Grades 4 to 6 will be denied the music program, and he added tliat many of the students’ parents have already purchased or rented instruments. Another 1,100 students planning to begin the elementary band and string program this September will By Surj Rattan News Reporter also be forced to drop out of the program. “The loss of this program to these 2,891 students means a loss of a program in which they learn to read music, play an instrument, experience success in a musical ensemble and develop an appreci- ation for music of many styles, cultures and historical periods,’’ said Rankin. The projected budget cuts, he said, will also eliminate classroom music programs for students in kindergarten to Grade 7 even though the school board is re- quired to provide the programs. Rankin said 20 teachers who currently teach the classroom music programs will cither be laid off or reassigned to other areas where they will need education retraining. Two public meetings will be held on Tuesday, April 7, at 7 p.m. at Carson Graham and Windsor secondary schools to discuss the impact the budget cuts are expected to have on District 44’s fine arts programs and to consider proposals for saving the programs, Snow packs dwindle; reservoir levels drop GVRD monitoring watershed SKIERS AREN’T the only ones lamenting the scant snowfall on North Shore mountains this year. By Chery! Ziola Contributing Writer Greater Vancouver Regional District watershed officials are also. concerned about . dwindling snowpacks feeding the two North Shore reservoirs. The Grouse Mountain snowpack feeding the Capilano Lake watershed is at 19% of its normal snow supply, said water- shed protection officer Wayne her. Mvith only 56 cm (22 in.) of snow compared with its average 293 cm (115 in.) for March, it’s *¢down considerably,” he said. And Palisade Lake, the other Capilanc reservoir feeder, is at 70 cm (27.5 in.), compared with iis average 367 cm (145 in.) level. ; Orchid Lake, which feeds into the Seymour reservoir, currently sits at about 57% of its normal capacity for this time of year. The current levels are based on readings taken last week following the mildest winter in years. But GVRD water district engineer Tom Heath said it's too soon to panic about potential water shortages. “We don’t normally make predictions at this point,’’ he said, adding that predictions are made in June after spring rains. “We rely more heavily on spr- ing rains than snow melt. Snowpack is a relatively small part of the equation.”’ Heath said the Seymour reser- voir was currently five feet below full capacity. If spring rains are as fleeting as the Lower Mainland's winter snowfall, he said a water shortage response pian would be im- plemented. Besides the usual water conser- vation measures, such as summer sprinkling restrictions, the response plan may also entail pip- ing water from the Coquitlam wa- tershed, which Heath said is far from being fully tapped. North Shore residents are al- ready drinking some Coquitlam water because the Capilano reser- voir has been closed to allow completion of earthquake upgrading work on the Cleveland Dam. a -@ the removal Friday, April 3, 1992 ~ North Shore News - 3 NEWS photo Pau AFTER FOUR years of planning, the Deep Cove Cultural Society (DCCCS) upened its new cen- tre Tuesday night. VIPs cutting the ribbon included (from left) Jim Shaw, of Shaw Cable; DC- CCS president Ann Booth; North Vancouver District Mayor Murray Dykeman and DCCCS trea- surer Damian Inwood. The VIPs toured the facility’s art gallery, theatre, heritage archives, corte dintey room and outdoor amphitheatre. Tomorrow night, the centre goes on | Parents urged to lobby Victoria to head off school service cuts Layoffs ‘imminent; Carson Graham meeting told CONCERNED PARENTS, teachers, and students at a meeting Monday night at Carson Graham Secondary were urged to write letters to the provincial education ministry to help head off the looming cuts to North Vancouver District 44 school services and programs. Under current block funding, District 44 will face a $10.2 mil- lion deficit if current operations are carried over to the next school year. School district budget meetings were also held Monday night at Windsor and Sutherland Second- ary schools. As outlined in the March 29 News, proposed cuts include such programs as outdoor education, music and summer school. The programs, according to District 44 assistant superintendent Chris Kelly, ‘‘are not a frivolous waste of money. These programs represent things that we feet are essential to the overall growth of a child.” Kelly identified two major fac- tors contributing to the district’s projected shortfall: of local taxing authority (the board’s ability to generate revenues by drawing from property taxes was elimi- nated two years ago by the Social Credit government); @ the NDP government’s plan to equalize education services in all 75 B.C. school districts. Since the quality and breadth of North Vancouver’s school pro- grams represent the exception By A.P. McCredie Contributing Writer rather than the rule in the B.C. school system, Kelly said the pro- vince’s quest for parity has resulted in a significant funding deficit for District 44. The North Vancouver Teachers’ Association presented figures at the meeting that outlined the summary of proposals made by the board, accompanied by the number of jobs that will be af- fected by the cuts. According to the data, if 94.5 teaching jobs are elinsinated, along with 17 administration posi- tions and 22 support staff, the $9.3 million saving would still fall short of the district's projected deficit. Salaries and benefits account for 87% of District 44’s current $86.3 million operating budget. “‘Layoffs,’’ Kelly said, ‘‘are imminent.”’ North Vancouver Teachers’ Association president Linda Wat- son said, ‘*The fiscal framework used by the province to determine block funding does not work. The minister of education is new at the job, and she does not understand the impact this faulty system has AEE ERE ELSES NORTH VANCOUVER SCHOOL BOARD on programs and budgets.’” Watson said a full-scale let- ter-writing assault on the ministry detailing the drastic cuts looming in’ North Vancouver’s school system will bring the issue to the ministec’s attention and perhaps bring some relief to District 44 schools. . When pressed by questions from the audience as to what the community can do to save some of the District 44 programs, Kelly said that writing letters to the minister of education and to local MLAs is a positive way to let the government know how North Vancouver residents feel. One audience members said that because North Vancouver residents pay some of the highest property taxes in the province, they deserve the current schooi programs offered in the district. Others in the audience asked about setting up a fee structure schedule for parents interested in having their children continue in programs threatened by the short- fall. This proposal, however, was greeted with concern by others at the meeting because District 44 adheres to a philosophy of educa- tion availability to all. The board must submit its 1992-93 operating budget to the minister of education by April 20. Time to spring ahead! READY FOR a shorter weekend? Good, because it’s that time of year again when we lengthen the days and shorten the nights. On Sunday, April 5, at 2 a.m., Lower Mainland clocks officially move ahead one hour as the West Coast goes from Pacific Standard Time to Pacific Daylight Time.