Dear Editor: For any years the citizens of North Vancouver and their school board have strived to create a su- Ferior education for their children. To reach this soal, new pro- géams (elementary music, o1tdoor sci.col, etc.) were developed and the taxpayers agreed to higher tax tates to provide the required fund- ing. Due to their success, families appreciating the value of a quality education chose %) move to North Vancouver. The results of this commitment and hard worx are now being destroyed by a three-year-old government policy which, in the name of equalization, is making it Equalization ruins the top layer impossible for those school districts with the highest-quality educational programs to continue those programs. in North Vancouver, the school board is being forced to eliminate most of the programs which have made this district a model for other districts interested in quality education. Under the new funding policy, instituted by the Social Credit government, 1} local schoo! taxes Save been taken by the provincial government and redistributed Uiroughout the province, 2) local school boards and their citizens have lost the ability to determine how much they wish to raise and spend on the local schools, and 3) a funding formuls has been im- posed under which those districts which have chosen above-average funding in the past are being ferced to adjust to reduced fund- ing now. “Adjust’” means eliminate the extra programs which provided a superior-quality education for their community's children. An educational policy which pursues equalization by pulling down the top deserves the same treatment as other misguided policies of the Social Credit past. However, so far the NDP has not comniitted to reject this foli- cy, nor to even take temporary action to ameliorate its effects un- til an improved approach to equalization can be develcved. If the NDP government slows More lanes not the way to go Dear Editor: My congratulations for pro- viding alternative columns by Peggy Trerdell-Whittaker (en- vironment) and Greg Wilson (automotive) in your automobile-dominated March 27 Issue, I attended an international con- ference in Mexico in August of °91 and had the misfortune to be stuck in Mexico City for several hours waiting for a connecting Hight, The levels of air pollution were ctaggcring, and after a quick one-heur our of the city my Jungs and nose were definitely feeling, the r.oHution. i can only imagine how bad it was when emergency anti-smog - tmzasures were imposed. Gn the return: trip I stayed over MONTESSORI MES PETITS PRESCHOO OPEN HOUSE in Los Angeles for one week, and t agree entirely with Bob Hunter that one gets the impression this is civilization on the decline. The levels of smog and air pollution were almost as bad as Mexico Ci- ty, and while flying in to L.A., the smog blanket was visible from as far south as San Diego. Public transit in’ L.A. was nowhere to be seen, and the cur- sent air quality is largely due to automobile emissions. Remember that Genera! Motors, Standard Oil and Firestone were charged with conspiracy in the late 1940s for buying up and bankrup- ting L.A.’s reasonably effective public transit system. Given that Vancouver and the Lower Mainland have similar to- pography to the L.A. basin, and Saturday, April 25 10am - 2pm Registration for September 1992 Mes Petits: 980-1102 440 Hendry Avenue Lower Lonsdale we are already experiencing air quality problems in the Fraser Valley, our efforts should be directed at improving transi¢ systems, providing for bicycle cor- ridors, and encouraging GVRD's Regional Town Centre planning approaches, Adding extra lanes to the Se- cond Narrows Bridge and related projects arc clearly not in our best interests. Any propos.4 third crossing on Burrard Inlet should be a dedicated Sky Train bridge. As the municipal dizector for Sacramento said recently on The Nature of Things, ‘‘We don't need to go to war in order to drive to work,"* K. Ashley North Vancouver ‘W| | DRAPERIES By S. Wednesday, April 22, 1992 — North Shore News — 7 the current block funding policy to destroy the best school district programs in the province, the NDP will vightfully be accused of embracing one of the clearest ex- amples of previous government stupidity, as its own stupidity. if the current financial climate prevents equalization except by pulling down the top, then Iet’s defer cducational equalization un- til we can pursue it by pulling up the bottom without destroying the top. James Stephenson North Vancouver E this is an advertisement B Dear Editor, 8 | wrote 4 letter which was publish- ed in the Mailbox section of the m™ March 28, 1992 North Shore Bs News. That letter dealt with § s issues relating to the Ross Road § ¥ School lacrosse box. ft stated, § f “On numerous occasions rocks & had been strewn across the sur- § f& iace of the lacrosse box. A cor- # © rosive substance was poured # onto the surface. Young people... J ® had been verbally abused and & a sworn al repeatedly...” : 8 | do not xnow what specific in- § dividual or individuals did this nor § H did | intend by my letter to imply & 8 that any specific individual or § f group of individuats did this. : | apologize if my comments have # @ done harm to any individual or & A group of individuals. . M. McDonough § LAURSEN CUSTOM DRAPERIES AND VALANCES tabour $7.50 per panel unlined, $8.50 lined CUSTOM BEDSPREADS AND COVERS Low, low prices on blinds and tracks For FREE Estimates Call 987-2966 Serving the North Shore for 22 years SECONDARY SUITE POLICY AT A POLICY COMMITTEE MEETING 4. Recommendations from Policy Committee. Monday, April 27, 1992 at 7:30 p.m.in the Council Chamber, City Hall, 141 West 14th Street, North Vancouver. 1, Staff Presentation. 2 Presentation from the Public. 3, Discussion by members of the Policy Committee of Council. 2% The Ci Chairman - Aiderman S.J. Dean invites all interested persons to attend the Policy Committee Meeting, to make comments on the above issue, or to present written submissions to the City Clerk prior to the meeting. BRUCE A. HAWKSHAW CITY CLERK of North Vancouver Lhe Keart o Your CAP WEEK Clay and Textile Show Fine pottery, hand-dyed silk, colorful weavings and much, much more will be on display when the Clay and Textile Arts Department presents its Spring Exhibition of Student Work. The event takes place in room A-117, Monday, April 27 through Friday, May 1, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with the hours extended to 8 p.m. on Thursday. College Singers on CBC Tune your radio to CBC to hear the captivating voices of the Capilano College Singers, who ne been selected as B.C. finalists in the Chamber Chair category of the CBC Radio Competition for Amateur Choirs. The competition finals will be heard on “Choral Concert” on the CBC Stereo network (105.7 Fed in Vancouver), between 8 and 10 a.m., Sunday, April 26. The winners will be announced on “Choral Concert,” May 17. Fashion and Design courses Starting this week are ewo highly recommended courses in ' Extension's Fashion and Design . section, Textiles is aimed at home and professional dressmakers, as well as sales people in retail and manufacturing. The six-session course starts on Monday, April 27, frota 7 to 9:30 p.m. The cost - ’ is $125. The second course, Interior Design, solves the problem of too much choice! Applying some simple design theories will help you artive at a total look for. any room in the house. Instruction starts on Tuesday, April 28, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. for 10 sessions. The cost is $195. For details and ’ registration, phone the Extension Office, 984-4901. > Engineering Transter Program Have you got what it takes to become an engineer? Find out in an upcoming information session. Starting in Fall 1992, Capilano College will offer a first year Engineering Transfer Program, equivalent to the first dak of UBC’s engineering pr Learn all the details on wn Tuesday, April 28, at 7 p.m., room H-501. CAPILANO COLLEGE 986-1911