4 YOUR COMMUNITY {NEWSPAPER SINCE 1968 Fireman | Says | fashion farewell \.;} plums PAGE 13 PAGE 17 a Bh aS Distcibutton G86.) 337 WEST VANCOUVER Schoo! Board's claim of inability to | West Vancouser School Board reduce the budget by over : hej appealed the settlement of a MBERTON $700, 00. pay Its teachers an urhitrated settlement was rejected F riday 2.2 per cent teacher salary increase Reporter Also, he said, the district had by the B.C. Ministry of Finance Compensation Stabilization — with increments in June on the the right to seek additional funds Board. grounds that the district was un- able to pay. from West Vancouver taxpayers, NEWS photo Stuart Davis MONICA Yagi loads up at North Vancouver's Capilano Mall with the various necessities for the coming school year. Along with the rest of B.C.’s student population, Monica will be hitting the books Tuesday as the 1986-87 school year begins. But Larry Grey, from the CSB office, said commissioner Ed Peck found the board did not meet the test of proving inability to pay. Grey said the arbitrated settle- ment will stand. At the time of the district’s ap- peal, West Vancouver Teachers’ Association voted to begin an in- Struction-only campaign to begin this Tuesday unless the district withdrew its appeal. INSTRUCTION ONLY Kit Krieger and Peter Lefaivre, co-presidents of West Vancouver Teachers’ Association, said the membership will discuss whether to proceed with the instruction-only campaign oat the association's general meeting Tuesday. “Pm not surprised with the dechion.” said) Krieger. * The argument that the bourd was un- able to pay was very specious. “Hawwever, there's still some damayve that must be remedied. Teachers felt at was an insult that the (arbitraied settlement) decision was taken fo the final step of an appeal, and hat the damage done from that insult must now be temedied, “dn other words there’s il feel- ing,’ he said. School trustee Pat Boname said she betieves the setiignient will mean the school district and. its teacher, can start the school year ona “positive nore.” RECEIVED FUNDS “Pin just sorry it took so long. When we pleaded inability fo pay, things were different. Hut over the summier we received funds and the situanion has changed. We praba- bly do hase the ability to pay now. she said. Boname said the district received $400,000 from the Fund for Ex- cellence in Fducauion Fund in July. She said the approximate cost of the serigment for the district will be $300,000, including increments. Boname said the board made the decision to appeal because it did not know at the time whether the district, would reeeive the addi tional funds. Krieger said the board's original school budget would hase been sufficient to pay its teachers a sal- ary increase, but trustees voted to but chose not to do so. “Poothink they (the district) believe teachers in the face of restraint will continue to produce, but the time has come when we're nol going to subsidize the com- tuunities in which we teach either with our time or income,” he said. VANCOUVER School ( Trustee Pat) Bongme m= just sorry it) tuok so long..." In 1984S the average West Van- couver teacher salary was $38,220, Teachers are contracted to work 200 days a vears. Boname said the board voted to seduce the budget ino order to decrease West) Vancouver's mill rate. “We were setting the mill rate at the time and it was an irrevocable decision. The tax billy went out the next day,"" she said. Krieger said the mill rate tor education purposes in lest Vian- couver ranks 75th out of the pro- vinee’s 78 districts. while the assessed value of West Vancouver property ranks seeond out of 74 districts. WAGE INCREASES Since 1983, he said, West Van- couver teachers have received wage increases totalling 1.76 per cent. He said in the same period West Vancouver police have been awarded increases toning 9.16 per cent and West Vancouver firefipnters awards increased by une per cent.