IT’S TIME to focus on the
home front.

By Deborah McVittie
Contributing Writer

Specifically, that part of the

home that deals with kids and
education. A new slate of North
Shore school trustees will be
elected on Nov. 20.

If your child’s education and/or
the distribution of your tax dollars
arc important to you, then get in-
volved — or at the very least, get
informed.

’ There is a general sense that the
school board is inaccessible and
unresponsive. Actually, school
board trustees, the link to the
board for parents and the com-

munity, are only a phone call
away,

The upcoming municipal elec-
tion is your opportunity to get to
know something about the people
who are the board (and those who
would like to be). Let them know
they will be held accountable for
the decisions they make on your
behalf.

While school boards do not ac-
tually determine how much money
their district will receive (the pro-
vincial government is responsible
for this), the board decides how
the funds are allocated to different
educational programs.

This makes school boards the
targets of many special-interest
groups who have any variety of
specific items they would like to
see the board support.

lcis important that your school
board hears from the ‘silent ma-
jority’? as well as these issue-
specific groups.

While both the North and West
Vancouver parent councils try to
represent that “silent majority’ of
parents, it is important for parents
as individuals to be able to direct
that representation.

- Ata recent parent council
meeting at Capilano elementary
school in North Vancouver, the
guest speaker was North Van-
couver District 44 School Board
trustee Pat Heal.

Capilano school invites trustees
to address their parent meetings
twice a year to keep the lines of
communication open.

Feedback has been extremely
positive from parents and the

Friday, N

trustees alike. (Community
members are also encouraged to
attend meetings at the school.)

The municipal elections present
an ideal opportunity to speak to
prospective trustees at the all-
candidates forums and to begin a
dialogue that can continue after
the new trustees are clected.

You wouldn't buy a new car or
house without checking out all the
options and asking lots of ques-
tions first, Why gamble on your

ovember 12, 1993 - North Shore News - 7

child’s education?

Record the dates of all-can-
didates meetings in your area now,
line up a babysitter if you have to
and show up at the meeting with a

few written questions to put to the
candidates.

They're making major decisions
about your kids and your money
— a few hours of your time is a
small investment to make.

PVA. DISTRICT

RE-ELECT

OX

| Student forced to go elsewhere

Dear Editor:

A young lady I ‘know, who
graduated from’ high school in
June with an:82% average, was
not accepted to any of our three
‘British Columbia universities on
first application.
She was accepted at Queens and
McMaster universities in Ontario

on first application.
She was . fi nally accepted on

' MEN. BAXTER _
LAWYER :

24 Years’
Experience

Aug. 15 by the University of Brit-
ish Columbia.

A student cannot wait until
Aug. 15 to be accepted. By then,
she had already made plans to go
to a community college.

Until. our children with such
good grade point averages are.ac-
cepted on first application to our
universities,

regardless of what they pay,

CONSDALE QUAY ~-
, NORTH VANCOUVER’ :

988-6321 |,

Reduction in youth Violence
v! wil work together against violence
v Carry out a curriculum where our children have empathy and
understanding of the Consequences of youth violence

v Support palicy and implementation of zero tolerance on

Violence i in schools

BC's. Premier Marina Now. Has.

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foreign students, -

should not be allowed to register
in British Columbia.

In fact, until our students have
registered for the courses they
need at the colleges and univer-
sities, foreign students should not
be allowed to register.

I believe in foreign students
from an educational and
charitable perspective but not to
the exclusion of our children who
have the marks.

Roger C. Nickel
North Vancouver

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