FROM your embattled
education front: more

lessons in monopolistic
thinking.

Outcry over attempts by
the Canadian Union of
Public Employees (CUPE) to
eliminate parent volunteers
from public schools has
drawn promises from B.C.

. Education Minister Penny
~ Priddy that the NDP will
make no deals with labour
restricting parent volun-
teerism.

: But of course that’s far
from the end of the story.

With an NDP promise
and $3 you can buy yourself'a
»> large latte at the’ cappuccino
“house of your choosing."

Priddy’s qualifier to the .
“above is that the issue will
have.to be settled on a dis-
. tict-by-district basis.
Thanks for the help,
Madame Minister...
; Because even though.
word has it that the parent. -
volunteer issue has been.

CUPE contract bargaining
table, the issue of how it got
there in the first place ° :

As North Vancouver. =
‘arent Adviso ? Council rep-
oint out, the :

“Re::Proposed: Gleneagles
Drive 'reloc

. petition,
‘ port to: ‘council for the pure"

tion. and “o chas

is seriously flawed beczuse the
system’s clientele — students
and parents -—— are missing
from the equation.

Issues such as parents’
rights to be involved in the
schools they fund and there-
by bring more resources to
the province’s education sys-
tem are included in contract
bargaining without the
knowledge of the province's
parents anu taxpayers.

That’s unacceptable.

In Surrey the store has
already been given away. Any
job done there by CUPE is
now off-limits to parents.

>This, as North Vancouver

. District 44 trustee Guy

Heywood points out, is a

. kind of creeping privatization
“from the left:

: public institu: ©
tions are becoming the prop-

"erty of unions.

_.. It began in carnest on this
side of the water back in the
early."90s, when contract: |.”

expres ed: its ‘sup-

plan has: been ©

: developed. which includes -a

proposed. sits for ‘a future:

community centre that does. :

not-encroach “upon” the ~

1G eneagles golf course.

Care hasbeen taken’ to.
that ‘the golf cours
lands rémain. un uched.

:. Would facilitate iors
a’ movement between the

olf: course, . banquet: facili-
tes; ‘and the community cen-:

feo The propose: plan retains
the: forested ‘area’ along: the.

development

been a ‘consideration in order.

t6 offset the cost of acquiring
the: land, . thi nl

negotiations between the BC
Teachers Federation and
District 44 eroded much of
the local board's authority to
manage district resources.
District 44°s notorious $5
million deficit debacle tol-
lowed soon after, culminating
in 1996 with the firing of the
District 44 board.

The erosion continues
apace.

CUPE is gunning for
province-wide bargaining on
all issues because it’s good for
ee health of its union hierar-
cd

Nor so good, however, for
the health of focal school
boards, which are setiously
under the weather.

Long age cut out of any
meaningful bargaining
process, they now wield only
token power.

The amount of discre-
donary budget they deal with
is minimal, they're no match
for profession union nego-
tiators, and any agreements
they do achieve focally can be
negated by provincial deci-
sions. .

CUPE meanwhile contin-
ues to fire pistols skyward on
the contract front — threat-
ening to defy any settlement
imposed by the Industrial
Inquiry Commission and
Promising, to escalate job

“enable the: project, including “
“the. community centre, (0.

~ proceed.

“1 would like to emphasize te
that there have been no final 4

_ decisions made.

concept ‘at. ‘this .time and
council and I would like to

‘invite the “community. to-
examine it, Provide input and ~

ask ¢ uestions.- :

“public. is “invited” to:

amend a May:17 public meet-

ing ‘at Gleneagles elementary”

ool, °6350:: Marine’ Drs”
~oearting at 6'p.m.

The. land-use: plan is a.

action that could again dis-
rupt your children’s educa-
tion,

The union's bullheaded-
ness adds more fuel to the
growing fire of public opin-
ion to make education an
essential service.

And education as an
essential service should be a
rallying cry for all right-think-
ing parents in this province.

The public school system
is just that: public. It's not
the private property of
unions,

Not yet, anyway.

But CUPE’s grab for
school control is only one
fonti in the ongoing school

wan April 28 News story
revealed that, as of
September, private-sector
tutors will no longer be
allowed to work in public
schools during schoo! hours.

The issue raises a host of
concerns for education quali-
ty-conscious parents.

First, with over $6 billion
being poured into education
in this province, B.C. chil-
dren who need specialized
tutoring still don’t have
access to it in the public
school system.

Concerned parents who
have the moncy must there-
fore pay the extra freight.

account the: input: they have
received.

I encourage those that are
‘interested . to.” attend" this’
ensure

able“ to make recommenda

tions’ that best ‘meet the

needs and aspirations of West

“Vancouver's residen'

Mayor.“

. ‘West Vasitouver

Sunday, May 14, 2000 —- North Shore News - 7

‘Union continues push for school control

Now they won’t hav: that
option during school hours.

District 44 has trained at
considerable expense 29
unionized aides to take over
for the private tutors operat-
ing in North Vancouver
schools, but those aides are
only available in the schools
in which they're currently sta-
tioned.

Their deployment is
dependent on union approval
not on student need.

Heywood also points out
that it costs $6,000 annually
to educate a student in the
public school system; but it
costs $20,000 to educate a
special needs student.

The question begged here:
what other options besides
assigning tutors to special
needs students are available

or have been explored?

Under the current system
such exploration is not even
an option.

Meanwhile tutoring quali-
ty will henceforth be in the
hands of the public schoo!
system, which is steadfastly
opposed to accountability or
any system that cultivates
excellence at the expense of
systemic mediocrity.

So parents and children
lose on both education
fronts. Again.

—trenshaw@nsmews.com

Be a part of
~ the Lynn’
_ Valley Day”
Parade! ©

Saturday May 27.

Call Terr: Nichols
| “980-0654 a

: Drapery | Labour $14.95 pea panel lined.

how Lew.

Paiers

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