isie

Tough budget
decisions a
factor in NV

By Andrew McCredie
Community Editor

IT was a classic match-
up of wily veterans ver-
sus bright-cyed fresh-
men in Carson
Graham’s gymnasium
Wednesday night.

And despite the fact that
no one was keeping score
during the School Board
District 44 all-candidates
meeting in North Vancouver,
the division between the self-
described “new bloods” and
the “experienced” former
trustees was palpable.

“This school district is in a
crisis situation,” warned Pat
Heal, a trustee from 1990 to
1996. “There will be no
grace period for the elected
board, therefore we need
experienced trustees.”

First-time
candidates,
however, felt
that new
blood = and
new ideas are
needed to
prevent a
repeat of last
year’s funding crisis that
prompted Victoria to dissolve
the school board and appoint
then-Lions Gate Hospital
_president Bob Smith as the
district’s sole trustee.

“What Bob Smith did was
take action,” said newcomer
Deborah Kitson. “No action
was taken by our trustees.”

Nineteen candidates are
running for seven school
board positions — four to be
electe from North
Vancouver District, and three
from North Vancouver City.

Whoever gets elected —
be they vets or newcomers —
will face a daunting fiscal
challenge that will call for the
selling of some of the dis-
trict’s assets and closer ties

School District 44

is

NEWS photo Paul McGrath

NORTH Vancouver schoo! trustee candidates (ieft to right) Wayne Whetstone,
Kristina Vandervoort, Alfredo Sepulveda and Garth McSween face the voters.

with the corporate comtauni-
ty. A debt of over $5 million
is currently owed by District
44. to the
province, and
all candidates
seem to agree
that the next
three years
will see cut-
ting and
tightening at
North Vancouver schools.

And with a collective bar-
gaining agreement account-
ing for approximately 92% of
District 44’s annual budget,
little in the remaining eight
per cent can be cut without
affecting the classroom envi-
ronment.

“Tam very concerned
about the difficulr task of
funding schools in the face of
cutbacks,” said first-time can-
didate Alfredo Sepulveda,
echoing a sentiment ex-
pressed by most candidates.

Another dynamic of this
school board election is the
open allegiances forged
between candidates. Not sur-
prisingly, former trustees
have joined forces with for-

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mer trustees and first-ever
candidates with their con-
remporaries. These blocks
include: Deborah Kitson with
Tim Morrison and Joanne
Stephenson; Pat Heal with
Guy Heywood, Barb
MacLellan and Doug
MacKay-Dunn; and Martha
Lewis with Sepulveda and
Kristina Vandervoort.

For a complete rundown
on what each of the 19 candi-

dates’ personal views are on

the key issues facing District.
44, look for election coverage’

in next week's North Shore
News. :

Rogers Community 4 is
airing an interview with Bob
Smith tomorrow, Saturday,
Nov. 2, at 3:30 p.m.

North Vancouver school
trustee candidates appear live
on Rogers on Monday,’ Nov.
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