December 1, 1993 68 pages ie pet sy ie pike: TOP TEAM Carson Graham Eagles blank Surrey to take football crown ee ES ei ES Oftice, Editorial 985-2131 a3 os rafal - TOUGH TALK No pandering to casy images in today’s art, claims West Van painter NEWS photo Paul McGrath WEST VANCOUVER School District 45 superintendent of schools Doug Player listens to questions from the audience during Monday night's special board meeting. The _ outgoing board met one last time to be presented with an independent audit of Sentinel secondary school's finances. Wite of former Sentine! principal claims that HOCKEY TICKETS bought with international student fees were used for pe mal pleasure by former Sentinel secand- ary school principal Peter Lefaivre, current; West) Van- couver secondary principal Arne Smith and West Van- couver District 45 School Board (WVSB) superintendent of schools Doug Player, the school board was told Monday night by Gaye Lefaivre. in the last meeting of the out- going board, the independent audit of Sentinel school and the Sentinel Development Fund (SDF) was presented to the bourd. The fund was “seeded” with $88,668 of international student fees and was to raise funds pri- vately for Sentinel school. The fund ingu.red expenses such as $79,617 in salaries for the fund development office and the fie nancing of a failed alumni re- union, which included the expen- diture of $1,248 to buy Frisbees. Without the transfers from foreign student’ fees, the fund would be $47,000 in the hole. WEST VANCOUVER SCHOOL BOARD by Kevin Gillies The report, compiled by Deloitte and Touche and presented to the board by Deloitte and Touche consultant fan Petrie, ex- onerated the board of any misap- propriation or missing funds, Petrie, whose child attends Sen- tinel, assured the board and the audience that no conflict of inter- est oxisted. But the WVSB did purchase two seis of two Vancouver Canuck season tickets for $5,272 with in- ternational student fees. Until Monday night, Player and the board imaintained the hockey tickets were purchased to be used us an “ingentive plan’ for Sen- tinel teachers who did outstanding work, When asked about the tickets Monday by Gaye Lefaivre, the estranged wife of the former Sen- tinel principal, Player maintained the tickets were given to the prin- cipuls to be distribited at their discretion as rewards to district staf. But Lefaivre shot back that the principals understood that the tickers were actually personal bonuses to their administrative sitlaries which were frozen by the government. “Because they were at the top level of the salary they were to be a bonus, @ supplement to their salary. “He (Peter Lefaivre) didn't only tell me, he told a number of my friends thas,’ she said. “We didn't pive the Gckets to teachers; my husband used them, the children used them. Doug Player used them whenever he wished to have them —- te would call and he had rights to them,” she added, When board chainnan Peter Bradshaw replied by saying that he had a list of all the Gickets used by Smith and thar Smith hadn't used a single one, Lefaivee and her daughter Kelly retorted that that was not true: that they have sat beside hin at games. Lefaivre added that) to her knowledge Smith had given: some tickets Co teachers and that ‘he is a generous man.” Ino a Nav. 2] Bradshaw said, "What Doug Player wanted to do wus find some lower profile way of rewar- ding 1eachers who did outstanding things.... Because the good ones News story, tickets were personal ‘bonuses’ get paid as mech os the bad ones.” ; But a Nov, 16 West Vancouver Teacher Association (WVTA) newsletter said, “The WV TA has been unable to find any Sentinel teacher who was offered the use of these tickets... We deplore any perks that single out some teachers and ignore the contributions of the many.” The tickets were purchased with fees paid by students trom abroad who pay $12,000 to attend West Vancouver schools, This year the district has 108 foreign students in its interna- tional student program for finanetal boost to the s $1.3 million. The money subsidizes the education of West Vancouver stu- dents and schools, In additinn to the hockey tick- ets, $8,303 of the foreign student fees was spent on foyer plants.