NEWS photo Grad Ledwidge PARENTS AND students protested schoo! board budget cuts by rallying in front of the NV District 44 offices on Tuesday evenirg. arents rally to save popular music program Majority in favor of ‘pay-for-play’ system PARENTS UPSET over the loss of North Vancouver School District 44’s well-established band and strings pro- gram rallied Tuesday night outside the District 44 offices. The rally followed an April 7 meeting at Carson Graham Sec- ondary held to discuss possibile short-term solutions to save the popular program. At Tuesday’s board mecting, parents’ representatives gave a short presentation to the board aimed at keeping the program alive. A survey had been distributed at the April 7 meeting asking au- dience members if they approved of a “‘pay-for-pay” system for the music program. The survey indicated that " “parents would have to pay $140 “per student under a fee-play struc- ture. Of the 1,100 signatures collected in-the survey, 97% were in favor of a fee structure program. But the parents were told Tues- day night that the numbers they received in the survey were low. District 44 chairman Richard - Walton agreed to meet with the _ parents after Easter to give them the correct per-student costs under a pay-for-play plan. The district announced a $10 -million budget cut at Tuesday’s meeting. The music program was one of the programs cut. Bob Rankin, the district coor- dinator of visual and performing arts, told the audience at the April 7 meeting that the purpose of the ‘meeting was ‘‘to look for a sense of direction of how the communi- ty feels the program could be restored.” Kankin stated that parents, citi- zens and taxpayers are currently writing letters to local MLAs and the Minister of Education. But he added that, with the budget deadline less than two weeks away, a last-ininute injec- tion of money from Victoria is highly unlikely. A Music Parents Task Force hes been established to determine how the program can be saved. _ The task force suggested the program fee idea and a letter- writing campaign aimed at the Ministry of Education. The estimated cost of the band and strings program for the next school year is $460,000. As of Oc- tober 1991, 3,310 students were enrolled in the program. Under the pay-for-play struc- ture, a bursary fund would be es- tablished using funds from dona- tions and fundraising. events to ensure that students would not be eliminated from vecause of financial reasons. the program. By A.P. McCredie Contributing Writer Jane Atkinson, a parent and former music teacher, told the April 7 audience that she would be willing to donate a portion of the scholarship fund that was es- tablished for her daughter — a District 44 music student — who was killed in a car crash 18 months ago. But some audience members feared that if a program fee was established, it would pave the way for Victoria to shave more funds from schoo! district budgets. Other suggestions for saving the program included a freeze on teachers’ salaries, 2 pay cut for district administrators, and the shortening of the school ycar by one month to save money. One man suggested thai his elementary-aged daughter an! her bandmates could give a perfor- mance in Education Minister Anita Hagew’s office, the outcome of which would surely be sv ffi- cient to convince the minister yat the band ane strings program ‘vis essential to the children of Dist: i:t 44, , Teachers blame Victoria THE PROVINCIAL government is to blame for the staff and program cuts announced Tuesday by the North Vancouver District 44 School Board (NVSB), ‘the president of the North Vancouver Teachers’ Association (NVTA) has said. The NVSB approved a 1992-93 school-year budget of just over $93 million, a cut of about $10 million from the current school budget. AS a result, the NVSB has been forced to eliminate 96 full-time teaching positions and a further 10 full-time equivalent positions in ad- ministration time in elementary and secondary schools. In addition, 26 full-time equivalent support staff and seven administrative positions have been eliminated. “Our worst fears have been confirmed,”’ said NVTA presi- dent Linda Watson. ‘‘A total of 106 teaching positions have been eliminated.’’ She added that th2 union had hoped the provincial gov- ernment would have come through with extra funding to help offset the NVSB’s deficit. Watson said she was disap- pointed in the governing NDP party’s attitude towards educa- tion. ‘Teachers are very surprised at the NDP. They pledged that they would bring some :tability to education, but instead they have remained with the Social Credit formula of financing,’’ said Watson. She vowed that her member- ship will continue to lobby Vic- toria for more money for education in District 44. “We're not giving up the fight yet. We're still going to By Surj Rattan News Reporter ‘put pressure on the provincial government,’’ said Watson. “‘It (staff cuts) will have a very serious and negative effect on education in North Vancouver. It’s hit a number of programs that have made North Van- couver special.’’ Watson said North Van- couver parents should also lobby the provincial govern- ment for increased education funds. Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 389 president Mike Hocevar, whose local represents non-teaching District 44 employees, saicd Wednesday that he wanted to speak with other Local 389 of- ficials to determine the impact of the staff cuts to his union before making a comment. Last week a delegation made up of a NVSB trustee, District 44 parents and the NVTA and CUPE went to Victoria and urged three North Shore MLAs to convince the provincial gov- ernment to release $10 million from a contingency fund to help offset the District 44 defi- cit. : North Vancouver-Lonsdale NDP MLA David Schreck told the group that the provincial government has no more money. Friday, April 17, 1992 — Nerth Shore News - 3 Spray start date awaits clear skies Wet weather delays aerial attack on Asian gypsy moths MOTHS WILL play while rain keeps the spray planes at bay. By Michael Becker News Reporter Wet weather has delayed the planned mid-week start of the local aerial spraying attack on the Asian gypsy moth. The Agriculture Canada insec- ticide spraying program requires dry and relatively wind-free local weather conditions to poison the tree-eating pest. Ground spraying of the bacterial insecticide Foray 48B is planned, however, for the Lynn Valley area. The bacterial insecticide ap- plications are most effective in dry ticulate will remain airborne for days. Foray 48B product information includes a precautionary warning to avoid inhalation or contact with eyes or skin. But said Bell, ‘‘This thing is not going to be drawn into homes. As soon as the droplets touch some- thing they adhere to it. Remember, it’s sticky.’’ North Shore lawyer Paul Hun- dal is sticking to a bid to stop the spray prgram in federal court. As reported in the April 15 News, Mr. Justice Barry Strayer rejected on Tuesday an apptica- tion by West Vancouver-based Citizens Against Aerial Spraying for a temporary injunction against the spraying program. An attempt by North Van- couver District to delay the spray- LOWER MAINLAND areas to be affected by aerial spraying. weather, Rain will dilute and wash away the substance. Said moth spray program spokesman Jon Bell, ‘‘We’re assessing what the forecast is.” Meanwhile opponents of the aerial spray program point out tha? Foray 48B, containing the ac- tive ingredient Bacillus thuringien- sis kurstaki (Bt), is not licensed for vse on fruits and vegetables. The insecticide is designated for use on forests, woodlands, trees and shrubs. But an Agriculture Canada public advisory notes that Bt is safe for garcens ‘‘and is often us- ed by organic vegetable growers up to the day of harvest.” Said Bell, ‘“The active product in Foray is Bt. If you were to go out and buy Dipel, it contains Bt. The people who make Dipel have marketed it for home garden use and organic use. Novo (the Foray 48B manufacturer) is marketing for the forest and gypsy moth use. It is the same active ingredient. The chances are they are probably exactly the same product.”’ Critics of the program charge that Foray 48B dropped from the sky will end up in the lungs of those living in the target area. Many fear that the spray will enter homes and offices through air intakes and that the spray par- ing also failed in B.C. Supreme Court on Tuesday. A full hearing on an application for an injunction against the aerial spraying will be held April 28 and April 29. Said Hundal, ‘I’m seeking to establish that this spray program constitutes a violation of security of person and secondly that there is no evidence to support a rea- sonable belief that there is an {gyspy moth) infestation.”’ Hundal says he suffers from asthma and plans to leave the North Shore before the planes release their load. “The manufacturer admits that it affects people with asthma. 1 will visit my cousin in Surrey. My wife is also sick right now with a lung condition, and I’m very con- cerned about her health,”’ he said. On Tuesday, North Shore Green Party members announced their ‘‘reluctant support’ of the aerial and ground spray program. Said North Shore Green Party leader Phil Millerd, ‘‘We sec the presence of the Asian gypsy moth in the Port of Vancouver and the consequent necessity of spraying for the pest a deplorable and in- evitable result of uncontrolled global, rather than a bio-regional- ly centred, economy.” Saturday and Sunday, cloudy with a 50% chance of showers. . Highs 14°C, lows 6°C. Second Class Registration Number 3885