WV trustees tangie
over heaith funding

WEST VANCOUVER
school trustees are holding
fast to a decision to under-
fund their portion of the
North Shore Union Board of
Health by $60,000 as well as
not signing a funding
agreement already signed by
the four other participants.

By

That action comes despite
“threats”? and manouevering
by both the North and West
Vancouver District councils,
along with a warning from

: iy, Wiese

MICHAEL SMIT.
one of its own trustees that
not signing the agreement
would have a ‘devastating’
effect on the budget of the
NSUBH.

Trustee Michael Smith led
the attack on: the NSUBH
saxsing it was a ‘“‘scandal"
how the West Van School
District. only received the
services of three nurses for
its $200,000.

Smith also lambasted the
other participants in the

NSUBH for trying to get
West Van School District to
sign the agreement,

“tf they want to play
hardball, we have to play
hardball back and tell them
to blow it out their ear,”’
Smith said.

West Van trustees’ refusal
to sign an agreement for a
50/50 sharing structure be-
tween the school districts of
North and West Van and the
three municipalities on the
North Shore could throw the
entire funding system of the
NSUBH into chaos accor-
ding to Trustee Dawn
Sikula.

The District of North
Vancouver, in a letter to the
NSUBH, warned that it
would resort to the original
funding formula, if West
Vancouver, School District
did not sign the agreement,
The old formula stipulates
that the two school districts
pick up 62 per cent of the
NSUBH costs.

Meanwhile, West Van-
couver Mayor Derrick
Humphreys chastised the
school board, saying ‘‘while
it is not council's prerogative
to suggest School Board pol-
icy, the question remains as
to why Sschool District 45
cannot find the funding pri-
ority to meet its commit-
ments for the public health
of our ehildren when School
District 44 and = other
members of the Union
Board can cooperate to meet
their commitments."*

Smith was “appalied”’ at
Humphrey’s fetter, saying
the Mayor is ‘telling us to
stick itin our ear.”

Smith went on to say the
only way the board could
afford to pay the full
$260,000 amount was ‘to
lay off teachers and keep the
$90,000 nurses."”

Trustee Dawn Sikula took
exception to Smith's
“facts”, citing that the
board was presently receiv-
ing $77 per pupil from the
Ministry of Health while
spending only $44 per pupil.

‘We're spending $32 of
that money in other places.
Your argument is false,"
Sikula charged.

DAWN SIKULA

Sikula also pointed out
that Smith's figure on
$90,000 nurses was also in
error,

“We're paying a share of
overhead, we're paying a
share of the mental health
clinic, we’re paying a share
of the mental health inspec-
tion, and we're paying a
share of the medical health
officer ... there is not a great

deal of fat in this budgets"

Sikula said.

& - Wednesday, March 13, 1985 - North Shore News

EFFORTS BY North
Shore fire departments on
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week when she was pres-
ented this new wheelchair
by Dan Fitton of the
North Vancouver City fire
department, ‘The fire
departments caised
$13,500 in) last seur's

BD RR

Leake

fund-raising drive.

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