FROM your embattled education front: more

lessons in monopolistic thinking.

Outcry over attempts by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) to eliminate parent volunteers from public schools has drawn promises from B.C.

. Education Minister Penny ~ Priddy that the NDP will make no deals with labour restricting parent volun- teerism.

: But of course that’s far from the end of the story.

With an NDP promise and $3 you can buy yourself'a »> large latte at the’ cappuccino “house of your choosing."

Priddy’s qualifier to the . “above is that the issue will have.to be settled on a dis- . tict-by-district basis. Thanks for the help, Madame Minister... ; Because even though. word has it that the parent. - volunteer issue has been.

CUPE contract bargaining table, the issue of how it got there in the first place ° :

As North Vancouver. = ‘arent Adviso ? Council rep- oint out, the :

“Re::Proposed: Gleneagles Drive 'reloc

. petition, ‘ port to: ‘council for the pure"

tion. and “o chas

is seriously flawed beczuse the system’s clientele — students and parents -—— are missing from the equation.

Issues such as parents’ rights to be involved in the schools they fund and there- by bring more resources to the province’s education sys- tem are included in contract bargaining without the knowledge of the province's parents anu taxpayers.

That’s unacceptable.

In Surrey the store has already been given away. Any job done there by CUPE is now off-limits to parents.

>This, as North Vancouver

. District 44 trustee Guy

Heywood points out, is a

. kind of creeping privatization “from the left:

: public institu: © tions are becoming the prop-

"erty of unions.

_.. It began in carnest on this side of the water back in the early."90s, when contract: |.”

expres ed: its ‘sup-

plan has: been ©

: developed. which includes -a

proposed. sits for ‘a future:

community centre that does. :

not-encroach “upon” the ~

1G eneagles golf course.

Care hasbeen taken’ to. that ‘the golf cours lands rémain. un uched.

:. Would facilitate iors a’ movement between the

olf: course, . banquet: facili- tes; ‘and the community cen-:

feo The propose: plan retains the: forested ‘area’ along: the.

development

been a ‘consideration in order.

t6 offset the cost of acquiring the: land, . thi nl

negotiations between the BC Teachers Federation and District 44 eroded much of the local board's authority to manage district resources. District 44°s notorious $5 million deficit debacle tol- lowed soon after, culminating in 1996 with the firing of the District 44 board.

The erosion continues apace.

CUPE is gunning for province-wide bargaining on all issues because it’s good for ee health of its union hierar- cd

Nor so good, however, for the health of focal school boards, which are setiously under the weather.

Long age cut out of any meaningful bargaining process, they now wield only token power.

The amount of discre- donary budget they deal with is minimal, they're no match for profession union nego- tiators, and any agreements they do achieve focally can be negated by provincial deci- sions. .

CUPE meanwhile contin- ues to fire pistols skyward on the contract front — threat- ening to defy any settlement imposed by the Industrial Inquiry Commission and Promising, to escalate job

“enable the: project, including “ “the. community centre, (0.

~ proceed.

“1 would like to emphasize te that there have been no final 4

_ decisions made.

concept ‘at. ‘this .time and council and I would like to

‘invite the “community. to- examine it, Provide input and ~

ask ¢ uestions.- :

“public. is “invited” to:

amend a May:17 public meet-

ing ‘at Gleneagles elementary”

ool, °6350:: Marine’ Drs” ~oearting at 6'p.m.

The. land-use: plan is a.

action that could again dis- rupt your children’s educa- tion,

The union's bullheaded- ness adds more fuel to the growing fire of public opin- ion to make education an essential service.

And education as an essential service should be a rallying cry for all right-think- ing parents in this province.

The public school system is just that: public. It's not the private property of unions,

Not yet, anyway.

But CUPE’s grab for school control is only one fonti in the ongoing school

wan April 28 News story revealed that, as of September, private-sector tutors will no longer be allowed to work in public schools during schoo! hours.

The issue raises a host of concerns for education quali- ty-conscious parents.

First, with over $6 billion being poured into education in this province, B.C. chil- dren who need specialized tutoring still don’t have access to it in the public school system.

Concerned parents who have the moncy must there- fore pay the extra freight.

account the: input: they have received.

I encourage those that are ‘interested . to.” attend" this’ ensure

able“ to make recommenda

tions’ that best ‘meet the

needs and aspirations of West

“Vancouver's residen'

Mayor.“

. ‘West Vasitouver

Sunday, May 14, 2000 —- North Shore News - 7

‘Union continues push for school control

Now they won’t hav: that option during school hours.

District 44 has trained at considerable expense 29 unionized aides to take over for the private tutors operat- ing in North Vancouver schools, but those aides are only available in the schools in which they're currently sta- tioned.

Their deployment is dependent on union approval not on student need.

Heywood also points out that it costs $6,000 annually to educate a student in the public school system; but it costs $20,000 to educate a special needs student.

The question begged here: what other options besides assigning tutors to special needs students are available

or have been explored?

Under the current system such exploration is not even an option.

Meanwhile tutoring quali- ty will henceforth be in the hands of the public schoo! system, which is steadfastly opposed to accountability or any system that cultivates excellence at the expense of systemic mediocrity.

So parents and children lose on both education fronts. Again.

—trenshaw@nsmews.com

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