’ . w Ay « push for funding ipricrities for learning disabled Three groups make presentations fon West Van classroom concerns CONCERNS ABOUT educating students with learning disorders in regular classrooms were raised in three separate presentations Nov. 18 by two West Van- s couver parent groups and the West Vancouver Teach- mq ers’ Association (WVTA). won aay By Anna Marie D’Angelo y Contributing Writer The West Vancouver Parents’ Association (WVPA), the West Vancouver chapter of Children with Learning Disabilities and the WVTA presented three separate reports about what each group felt the West Vancouver District 45 School Board (WVSB) should consider when deciding its next budget priorities. “‘Maybe it's time to question this sacred cow,’’ said acting WVSB chairman Marget Furk, after acknowledging that the in- tegration of all students inte one classroom was an education ministry mandate. The WVPA submission stated that there was a pressing need in elementary schools for the earlier identification of learning disorders and for money to hire learning- assistance counsellors. Other WVPA concerns: @ the potential for al! students to be unprepared for a technologi- cally-oriented society because of inadequate funds for new techno- logy (computers); @ inadequate funding for replac- ing school equipment and supplies which resulted in textbook short- ages at Sentinel Secondary and West Vancouver Senior Second- ary. ““Education reaily meeds to have a bigger part of the provincial budget,’’ said WVPA spokesman Jill Mingay. West Vancouver Children with Learning Disabilities spokesman Henry Wood said students with learning disabilities meeded com- WEST VANCOUVER SCHOOL BOARD puters to help them produce school work reflective of their age and intelligence. Wood, who represented 110 families, said there was an acute shortage of vital computer equip- ment in the school district: which created frustration for learning- disabled students who had dif- ficulties in the physical act of writing. District 45 supcrintendent Doug Player challenged Wood’s asser- tion that it wasn't up to parents to provide laptop computers for their learning-disabled children. “J'm not sure that it is ideologically sound,”’ said Player, who later noted that the school district expects to be ‘‘about one million (doslars) in the hole this year,”’ WVTA spokesman and Bowen {sland Community School teacher John Luccock said his Grade 6 class of 26 pupils included four challenge-program students (above average), two studenis indentified as slow learners and five students indenufied as SLD (severely learn- ing disubled). Luccock said he doesn't receive enough help teaching his class despite getting aid from two teacher assistants for 2.5 hours each day and receiving other help from the school’s only special- education teacher, The WVTA submission said the present system would be close to a state of cullapse unless ways are found to solve teacher problems related to too many demands, too little time ana inadequate space. But Player said the school district’s yearly independent assessment of teacher stress levels showed those levels to be very low. “at the risk of offending, | think we should perhaps look at (teachers’) priorities. Only so much can be done in a 9 (a.m.) to 3 (p.m.) day,’’ said Flayer. CUPE strike vote approved THE CANADIAN Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 389, which represents North Van- couver District and North Vancouver City municipal workers, has been authorized by its membership to hold a strike vote, Local 389 president Mike Hocevar said Tuesday. *‘We had an overwhelming turnout Monday night. We have overwhelming support ta conduct a strike vote as deem- ed necessary,” said Hocevar. No date for the strike vote has been set. Hocevar added thai ine union has been attempting to Teach a collective agreement with the district and city for about one year, The union's last collective agreement with the two municipalities expired on Jan. 1. “We had to take a position with the employer because we have been bargaining for one year with no progress. Our membership will not give con- cessions,’’ said Hocevar. Wages for district public works employees currently range from $14.4! an hour up to $21.65 per hour for a senior foreman. The wages for inside district employees, which include cleri- cal, administration and profes- sional staff, range from $10.25 an hour for an office support clerk up to $29.50 per hour for a senior professional planner. Local 389 represents 1,450 city and district employees. {It does not represent employees of the North Van- couver Recreation Centre and the North Vancouver District Library, as incorrectly stated in a Nov. 24 North Shore News story. Lae wg NEWS photo Stuart Davis 8.C. LIBERAL leader Gordon Wilson was interviewed by three Capilano College broadcast Journal- ism students Monday night as part of a class exercise. Wilson, who elso teaches at Capilano Col- lege, fielded a variety of questions. Students grill Wilson Liberal leader faces Cap College panel B.C. LIBERAL leader Gordon Wilson must have thought he was back in a CBC-TV studio Monday night set to engage in another leaders’ debate. “‘Where’s Mike and _ Rita?’’ Wilson quipped in front of half a dozen broadcast journalism stu- dents at Capilano College. Wilson, sitting in front of a TV camera, agreed to be grilled by broadcast journalism students Dale Brandon, Pam Livingstone and Jacqueline Fournier as part of a class exercise. The Liberal leader answered questions on a wide range of topics, including abortion and the Meech Lake Accord. “I don’t support abortion on demand, but I do recognize that there are times when a woman has to make that difficult decision,” said Wilson. ‘‘Abortion is not a Political issue. It’s a decision a woman should be free to make.’” Wilson also said he was oppos- ed to the federal Liberal party’s stance on the Meech Lake Accord, saying he does not support any one province having special powers that other provinces do not have. **Every Canadian is equal. The feds (Liberals) were heading into By Surj Rattan News Reporter an election and they thought they might pick up some votes. We can’t allow one province to have veto powers,’’ said Wilson. “That's fundamentally wrong.’* He added that his party wants to make government more ac- cessible and honest; he dismissed suggestions that the B.C. Liberal party should move to the right. “~ don’t even know what the right is,’’ Wilson said. Asked what the relationship is between the Liberals and the Social Credit party, Wilson said: ““As long as people adhere to the kind of government that was in place for the last five years, they should stay in Social Credit.”” Wilson said he supported Premier Mike WHarcourt's con- troversial decision to travel to Asia recently. But Wilson said the trip was nothing more than a public-rela- tions exercise and added that Harcourt should first have called 4& new sitting of the B.C. legislature. Wilson said the Liberals have a lot of work ahead of them when the new legistative session is catl- ed. “We certainly have some real challenges, but we also have some very intelligent people. We are go- ing to be a very aggressive Op- position,’’ said Wilson. He added that he knew prior to the leader's debate that the Liber- als had a good chance to win in six ridings, which made it vital that he be included in the debate, something the CBC initially ref- used to allow. “Any party that has a recogniz- ed leader should be included in a debate. I knew the people of B.C. wanted a change. It was difficult for us to get our message out,’’ said Wilson. ‘‘I don’t think this (Liberal victories) was an- anything-but-Socred move.”” Wilson said his parents’ politics did not affect him while he was growing up and added that he was ‘absolutely stunned on election night to hear my father say he supported the NDP.”’