WV School Board clarifies position on dual-entry Dear Editor: Your editorial of June 13 ac- cuses the West Vancouver School Board of belligerence in its deal- ings with the issue of, under the new dual entry system, permitting children born in November/ December to enter school in September. Our actions indicate the opposite. 1. On Feb. 19, 1990 we wrote to the Minister of Education re- questing funding for the children born in November/December; 2. On Feb. 17, Gib Lind, execu- tive director of the Educational Liaison Branch, confirmed in a memo and in person to our staff that no board was permitted to enrol these chiidren; 3. On March 13 we met jointly with the concerned parents and John Reynolds, MLA, and sought funding for these children; 4. On April 28 we questioned the minister publicly at the annual general mecting of the B.C. School Trustees’ Association and were told unequivocally that the - Schools Act prevailed and no funding would be provided; Reader wants more space and less ‘waste basket’ Dear Editor: Is there a shortage of newsprint paper? Newspapers, politicians, magazines (Reader’s Digest) are always asking public input on various problems. We know all letters cannot be published, as there must be hun- dreds every week. Some I have read aren’t worth giving space to. However, in the News of April 22 there is only one letter published by Rev. Ed Hird asking the News if it is anti-Semitic. Surely there are many people that would like to see their letters on subjects pertaining to Canada stress or weight gain. You can quit smoking comfortably. We will design a personalized program and show you how to eliminate both the withdrawals and the habit. By combining hypnosis with new understandings about quitting smoking, kicking the habit will be comfortable and permanent without added THERE 1S NO CHARGE FOR THE INITIAL CONSULTATION MAKE TOMORROW BETTER. CALL TODAY. a Daniel J. Rutley e& Associates Clinica) Hypnotherapists 986-9304 | COPTER Cin OPED. 1G SE <2, © MaiLs0x Ei 5. On May 8 I offered to find an appropriate school facility which could be provided for four months for these children to have a continuing preschool program; 6. On May 11 I spoke with deputy minister Wayne Desharnais who confirmed that the Act stands; 7. On May 14, at a public school board meeting, I offered to have a conference call with the deputy minister and Gerry Humphries; 8.On June I1, at a_ public meeting, I offered to accompany these parents to meet the minister in Victoria if an invitation was forthcoming. 9. Throughout, our legal counsel has been in contact with the ministry’s legal advisors. As can been seen, we have: 1. Been supportive of these parents’ concerns; 2. Sought ministry support; 3. Devoted both our time and our staff's time to this issue. In short, we have been anything but belligerent. However, the issues remain the same: 1. The ministry must provide funding if these children are to be and local issues rather than worry- ing about unstable nations thou- sands of miles away that have been feuding for thousands of years. Public opinion is worth more than some of the junk that is printed by most papers and deserves more space than it gets. I have spoken to many who have stopped writing letters to the edi- tor as it is a waste of time. If he doesn’t agree with you, it goes in the wastebasket. Give a little more space to these sincere people who are trying to help with their ideas and sugges- tions our politicians should have 7 - Sunday, June 24, 1990 - North Shore News GOVERNMENT OF CANADA TREASURY, 15.50 %% CALL ROD CLARK MIDLAND WALWYN CAPITAL INC. 661-776C *3 mth Thills. Subject to availability &. minimum requirement. ee enrolled. Contrary to your report of 16 students, in point of fact, 49 children who fall into this catego- ry live in this district. This repre- sents a potential $53,116 in fund- ing. We are not willing to diminish the programs and ser- vices provided students in this district in order to enro! children not permitted or funded under the Act. 2. The ministry must make an ex- ception to the Act. As an elected board we swear an oath to uphold the law. We are not permitted to pick and choose those sections we will uphold and others we will vi- olate. It continues to be our hope that the ministry will ensure that equity exists on a provincial basis — preferably by funding these children on a one year only basis. As a board we shall continue to work in the best interests of all the children and taxpayers in West Vancouver in both a fiscally and legally responsible manner. @ A. John Lakes m James L. Straith @ William J. 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