HILLSIDE MIDDLE SCHOOL ¢ CONTROVERSY Site sale A CONTROVERSIAL plan to tear down West Van- couver’s Hillside middle schoo! and use the profits gener- ated from the sale of the school site to fund a new school in the Caulfeild Plateau area could result in the same kind of financial failure that occurred with a fundraising scheme for Sentinel secondary school, some West Vancouver resi- dents have charged. But the chairman of the West Vancouver District. 45 School Board (WVSB) said the two issues should not be linked together. The WVSB hopes to demolish the 35-year-old Hillside middle school, subdivide the school site into 30 single-family lots, and usé the profits from the sale of the lots to build a. new middle school in the Caulfeild Plateau area. School - officials population demographics suggest a -new middle schoo! is needed in the:' district’s western region. © “But the plan has been criticized’ “ by several West Vancouver resi- dents. ‘Some. are. now. suggesting the . * (funding problem) doesn’t happen: ’ again?’’ said Szibbo. school. board’s funding plan may - be a flop,:in light of the failure of the “Sentinel Development Office at Sentinel secondary school. 7 >The’ Sentinel: ‘Development: ‘Ini-’ tiative .was launched in’ 1991 to raise’ “funds to.-upgrade:and aug- . ment’ Sentinel school resources. The: fundraising scheme, which . Professional .. fundraiser, , tne school ‘and parents." 5 was. expected to” raise “$6, 738 000 for Sentinel secondary a "’° Bradshaw.’ * to Figures” ' But., according - released recently by the. Deloitte and. Touche accounting firm, ' the . balance-in' the fund’s coffers’as of ~ Aug. 13; , 1993, was $41,549. °° “0 Ata Sept. 20, WVSB. meeting, . » District. 45 superintendent Doug Player said $88,000 was raised: for the -fund” through © charged to international students. . But an audience member at the - ‘school. board meeting noted that . without the international student , fees, the fund would be $46,669 in | » the holes :. West; Vancouver . resident Cathy ~ Szibbo said that the school board ‘could ‘be setting itself up fer a _ similiar - funding. disaster ‘with’ its: -” Hillside middle school scheme. - “hey. (school board) obviously “were not given all of the informa- - ~...tion needed. to: make a decision . ‘(on Sentinel funding project). It’s . possible that they have not been given ‘all- of the information needed to. make a: decision in say current | _ of: irregularities’’ “the tuition fees .. By Surj Rattan News Reporter respect to Hillside. “It boils down to a lack of trust of the board. In the Sentinel case, they virtually wasted $110,000 of good money. ‘*You have to question if they (school board) are the best ones to make these decisions,’’ said Szib- : bo. . She added. that there are “a lot : connected with schoo! board’s Plan demolish Hillside. ""“The' question is what will they to. (school board) do to make sure it . But: WVSB chairman Peter Bradshaw said that what happened ‘with ‘the fundraising dzive at Sen- ~ tinel should not be linked with the plan to tear down Hillside. . . ‘Phere’s no similarity with the finances. whatsoever. There’s ab- “solutely‘no ‘connection whatsoever, ‘SSentinel . was -a _school-parent funded project. Caulfeild will. be “constructed with funds from: the provincial | government,” ~ said He added that the only reason “the Education Ministry has agreed. to speed up a decision on. the construction of a new school in the Caulfeild Plateau. area is because.the WVSB is offering to _kelp pay for a new school with the profits generated from the sale of the Hillside property. — . But he added that the provincial | government has not yet decided if’ it will fund the construction ofa new school. Bradshaw said a decision is ex- pected to be made in about two weeks, But West Vancouver: resident Peter Osberg said the Sentinel and Hillside issues are linked. He is calling fora public refer- endum on the Hillside issue and is urging others opposed to the pro-. ject to lobby the school board. “Sentinel (issue) is small potatoes compared to the Hillside potential, The numbers are constantly changing.’’ index “ Bi Crossword -) B Cuisine Scene... "i Lifestyles. : . . Ei News of the Weird BA North Shore Now ... #3 Sports .. TV Listings i What's Going On ..:. Cariadian Publications Mait Sales Product Agreement Number 0087238 READERS’ VOICE CALL US: 933- 2208 Chris Mahr North Vancouver the party, or the party’s leader? osal riles _ ANGRY WEST Vancouver residents called for the resignation of West Van- couver School District 45 superintendent Doug Player at the board’s Oct. 4 meeting for his involve- ment in the botched Sen- tinel secondary school fundraising initiative. WEST VANCOUVER SCHOOL BOARD by Kevin Gillies One parent presented a 200- name petition calling for Player's dismissal. Correspondence “received by ; the: West Vancouver School “Board (WVSB) was also critical of the board’s handling of the affair. _ The. board’s planning and policy committee has therefore announced that it will review and alter regulations in its policies dealing with: fundraising and the’ district’s foreign’: ‘students . pro- gram: * ' WVSB chairman Peter Brad- _ Shaws said-the review would en- sure that foreign students’ fees Tug boat ballet LONSDALE QUAY hosted United Way's gala kickoff fundraiser on Sunday, Oct. 3. Cates Tugs got into the act with a demonstration of its vessels’ manoeuvrability. or any other funds controlled by schools would go through tighter authority or control. A document produced by West Vancouver resident Cathy Szibbo showed that $5,272 from foreign students fees was spent on Van- couver Canuck hockey tickets and another $8,303 was- spent renting foyer plants. Player will also put together a report detailing his assessment of the Sentinel Development Office, which used a professional fund- raiser to raise funds for school improvements, and the use of foreign student funds. The report will be presented to the board at its Tues., Oct. 19, meeting. The board also passed a mo-— tion to create an ad hoc com- mittee that will examine the district’s. present fundraising policy and practices before making recommendations to the board, That committee wil! report to the board by Jan. 31, 1994. The committee will include two trustees from the policy and ._ planning committee, four teach- ‘ers, two administrative officers, four parents, District 45’s secre- tary-treasurer and the district’s assistant superintendent of operations. Bradshaw said that the whole issue of interaction between the school, the parents and the board also needed to be exam- ined. “| don’t think there’s any . question in this case that things | fell through the cracks,” he’said. Bradshaw. also pointed. out that the board’s accountants are . undertaking a full audit of the, Sentinel! Development Office's accounts. Residents also expressed their, displeasure with the board’s decision to pay Player 60% of his $95,150 annual salary while: he pursues his PhD in San Diego later in the year. Trustee Margot Furk reminded — the crowd that when the issue: was. discussed: by the’ board a year and a. half ago, she. voted - against it: . Furk -said that it is. not the | board’s policy to pay for pro- | fessional development of its.staff- - or pay their salary. while they pursue their educational goals. . But - board ~ chairman © Peter - Bradshaw said that having a:su-' perintendent with a PhD was of... value to the board provided that. the board found ; the. area of study to be acceptable. i NEWS photo Cindy Goodman i TO t PROVIDE North Shore 1 voters with more local i input into the ce paign leading up to the Oct. 25 federal election, the North Shore N election coverage will focus on your opinions and concerns. Your will appear in every issue, asking you questions relating to the election. The same question will repeat for three issues, with a fresh question + all every Sunday. You can only cast one vote, but you can express yourself every day by dialling 983-2208. Arl North Vancouver Marsali Maciver North Vancouver 1 want to vote for the local politi- 1 would vote for the party simply cian over the federal leader. i’ve because just selecting a tried the other way (voting for the party leader) and it just doesn’t seem to work. leader would mean nothing. Everyone thought Mulroney would be a really good leader. I think we need to get back to voting for the candidate because that is the individual who repre- sents us at the federal level. THES WEER’S QUESTION: | Do you vote for local candidate, party, or party’s leader? Chris Cosgrove North Vancouver 1 vote for the individual, based on the persons ethics, morals, values.