BY IAN NOBLE
"News Reporter:

A decision a former

~North Vancouver school
‘board chairman calls
“political” will cost two
‘schools: their vice princi-
pals next year.

That's left ‘parents _ of -
“Plymouth and Fromme ¢le-
“mentary - school students
“upset, a
The move to cut four ele-
mentary vice, principals in
. School District 44 elementary
schools and replace them with
teachers was made to appease
‘unionized staff and parents,
«, said Pat Heal. *

Heal was chairman of the

“cal

TRUSTEE Bob Smith

says he's just following
policy of the fired board.

school board when the deci-

sion was made in 1994.

» That year, unionized staff
and the reading: diagnostic
centres were cut. Senior

_administrators made a “‘politi-

99

decision to. make cuts
across ‘the board, :

. outery from staff and parents,

said Heal.

: “T's an absolutely . token’:
- gesture to make,” she told the *

* News.

‘oin-onerat

i »Miay 15 in’ North Van'Citys

‘stealing coins belonging

a Tolterin at wight i hear: a”
pouse vin’. the 306-block: of,

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in purposes on March 29 in
rth Vancouver City;

ailding ‘in. the :

‘West - (Ath :

B
magnet att ched for break.

Billed ‘asa “cost-cutting

‘move; Heal said cutting vice .
. principals actually costs the

district more money.
She points to a study con-

ducted. by the secretary-trea- :

surér the year before the vice
principal. cuts were passed
that confirmed vice principals

definitely”. provide. a cost “
savings. :
a Heal said ihat ‘by not hav: :
‘ing’: vice ‘principals, ° Other,

costs are’ ‘adde: school

without 'a

pulled from’d classroom anda

substitute teacher inserted if a.

principal |

Principals use up*more: sick ,
i but said’. assistant; schools.’

in ‘schools. without ‘vice

vice cetpals does not serve’

parents or, students.’ “I think
the vice principal has ‘a major
role ‘to play: in schools and I
don’ t think there is any other

| . (ee.

ance in (eat tane

including -
a administration, to prevent an

“vice principal, a*
harge’ must be”.

FORMER board chair Pat
Heal cails vice principa!
cuts politically motivated.

pick up all the things the vice
principal takes on.”
For example, Plymouth

parent advisory council presi-.

dent: Michelle Leone said

Parker is the only person who
knows how to fuily operate
. the ‘school’s “computer lab.
She'said he handles problems
well, attends all parent rmeet-

ings, and ran the the school’s -
_ tration/work,

“track, and field program.

Plymouth will lose its princi- ©

‘pai! in December next ‘year.
That, combined with the loss

of Parker, means there. will be

no continuity in administra-

tion’ heading into..1997, said «

Leone.

“We're losing a_ great
deal,” she said, “Our school is
devastated arid we do not plan
to take this lying down. It's ©
very, very sad.”*” - :

She's: upset that politics.

popular. vice principal Rob -

year compared “with the
$5,000 salary difference
between teachers and vice
principals.

Killeen called some of the
statistics silly, including. an
assertion that a principal is

"out of the school for 20 half-

day meetings a year. But he
added that if there are savings
from chopping the four vice
principals, they are minimal.
Government-appointed

school trustee Dob Smith said

he’s followed the policy of

‘the fired board regarding the -

rotation of, vice principals.
Smith does not look at the

_loss of four vice principals as
“a cost-saving policy, although
money was saved because of z

the positions climinated, he
said. Smith added the policy

“allows vice principals to con-

tinue to develop. in new
schools for future roles
administration.

Vice principals in small
elementary . schools ‘like.

’ Fromme and Plymouth teach °

90% of ‘the time and spend
10% of their time on adminis-

North Vancouver Teachers :
Asso¢iation president Chuck
Dixon said he would like to .
see administrators, both vice.

" priticipals and’ principals,

spend more'time teaching. -
/In  smali elementary

schools,’ vice principals

should. be teaching full time,

; he said. Some school districts

]

"have entered into the equa- /

tion: Decisions, she said, have
to be made for the’ children’s
best interests “and it won't be
that way come September.’ "y

Leone said, parents offered.
to pay the $5,000 salary dif-
ference for the'vice. ‘ principal,

: principals t

: superintendent,’ Paul Killeen’

“told: parents . it wasn’t possi-
dle. Ok

> As Fromme elementary
parent.” group .. presented.
‘Killeen with” statistics’ that °

‘show not having a vice princi- |.
‘pal’ in: the school ‘costs the ©

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do not provide vice principals ©
to schools. with less than 400°
students, he: said.

He appreciates ‘that vice.
take, on. Many.”

extracurricular activities.
“Parents appreciate that and
rightly so. But can we afford
to keep those people out of
the classroom now in order to
accommodate that and we
think not.”

Next year. Westover and
Cove Cliff won't have full
time vice principals, said
Killeen. ‘Seymour Heights
and Montroyal ‘schools will
have vice principals rein-
stated. ‘

Heal said the Ce paliey to cut .
the four vice principals . Was
presented to board members
by senior administrators al an
in-camera mecting immedi-
ately before the budget was
adopted.

Because the board was Tot
in complete ‘agreement : with
the policy, the board passed-a
motion that if funding was
increased, the first people
back would be vice princi-
pals, Heal said. .

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