4 - Friday, duty 4, 1986 ~ North Shore News

News Viewpoint

|__News Viewpoint _| SkyHigh costs

ARPET-LAYER Stuart’ Brown has made an astute observation regarding the $5.30) transit levy, now appearing on B.C. Hydro bills.

The charge is being made to subsidize the new

SkyTrain.

Brown, a North Vancouver resident, doesn’t cide the new rapid transit system because he says it doesn't come here and probably never will.

He's upset the charge, up 231 per cent from $1.60 a month, is being made across the board. And like many, he plans to protest the hike.

One vocal lobby group, the B.C. Coalition to End Poverty, is calling on everyone to write letters to their municipalities requesting they draft resolutions oppos-

ing the increase.

The coalition argues the increase is going to hurt pecple on the lower economic scale, who are already struggling to survive on low welfare rates. According to the coalition, the $5.30 will mean less money available for welfare recipients to spend on food.

The coalition also suggests letters be written to Pro- vin: i Secretary Grace McCarthy, calling on the gov- ernmeni to fund SkyTrain from general revenue.

Both suggesticns are valid.

If North Shore residents are upset with the bill, hit- ting rich and poor alike, now is the time to speak up

and voice your opposition.

The SkyTrain serves Vancouver, Burnaby and New Westminster — not the North Shore, or for that matter the rest of the province who must also pay the addi-

tional transit levy.

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North Shore News,

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RESTRAINT REDUCTIONS REDUCED CAREFULLY

. Van school trustees

should be co

Dear Editor:

The casual reader is likely to be completely misled by the two invidious letters published in the North Shore News, May 30, (Taxpayers’ Views Ignored, from Mrs. M.E. Baker; Parents Protest WV (School) Budget

_ Cuts, by unsigned members of the WV Parents’ Association).

The latter complains of the reduction in the provisional $986/87 budget by the 4:1 ma- jority vote of the Board of Trustees of School District 45, while completely ignoring the fact that the final budget adopted by the same 4:1 major- ity is a sizeable $900,000 in- crease over the previous year, an increase of approximately 5 per cent.

Mrs. Baker complains bitterly of the power of trustee Margot Furk's arguments for limiting the budget increase to said 5 per cent and implies that trustees Stark, Boname and Howard joined Mrs. Furk’s ‘‘gaggle’’ (Mrs. Baker's chosen term) like so many geese.

In point of fact the other trustees had independent views of their own supporting their

W/V for

| the dea f/

votes, as has been made clear to anyone who has attended regu- lar (open) board meetings con- sistently.

The Board of Trustees of the West Vancouver-Lions’ Bay School District (#45) are to be commended on their steward- ship during these past four dif- ficult years.

Expenditures and restraint reductions were carefully reduced on a smooth descent rather than being applied in a delayed but inevitable sudden drop. In each year actual dollars spent per pupil increased mildly until the 1985/86 y<ar when there was a slight reduc- tion.

The new 1986/87 budget will see a sizeable rise of more than $150 per pupil to a new water- mark level of apoproximately $4,000. The pupilfteacher ratio continues to hold in the 17.5:] area, significantly below the provincial average.

Class sizes have been careful- ly contrc‘led by adherence to long-standing formulae, and emphasis on effective treatment of learning disa’sility has been maintained. This has been done

Dear Editor:

Since my wife and | came to West Vancouver last year, one of our greatest complaints has been the amount of noise we have had to endure.

The climax came early this mor- ning when the ear(i-shattering roar of a mechanical excavator, belong- ing I understand to Ocean Point

along with paying due attention to the needs and growth of the French Immersion program and its implications on staffing and operation economy.

There is no factual basis for any claim of deterioration in teaching and learning standards in School District 45.

School boards are always subject to pressure and invec- tive from minority groups who hope to extract more in the way of jobs and dollars from the system than the residential tax- payers can afford to put in to it.

To meet the justifiable 1986/87 budget increase in West Vancouver the board has increased the mill rate by 7.4 per cent. For the so-called “‘average’’ ($160,000 assess- ment) residential taxpayer this represents a raise of about $40 to a total pre-Homeowner Grant school tax of $589 this year, and another similar raise automatically next year.

However, a large portion of homeowners have assessments two and three times or more above average, without neces- sarily having proportionally

Contractors Ltd., disturbed the whole neighborhood.

This nuisance, I am told, is like- ly to last some time and we have apparently no redres: for the in- convenience and discomfort.

My advice, therefore, to those thinking of settling here is: ‘Don't unless you are deaf.”’

David Macaree West Vancouver

ended

larger ability to pay.

West Vancouver residential taxpayers should take cheer that since the current provincial government revised the school finance formula in 1982 their schoo! taxes dropped 45 per cent from the 1981 level.

If the school budget sharing ratio for S.D. 45 of 60 per cent provincial: 40 per cent residen- tial taxpayer adopted for 1982 had been maintained instead of being dropped closer to 50:50 as of 1986/87, the new increase of 7.4 per cent in residential mill rate for schools would not have been necessary.

In closing may [ contrast the 1981-1986 overall drop in school taxes of 45 per cent to the total! municipal tax-plus- sewer and waste charges in- creased 41 per cent for the “‘average’’ taxpayer over the same period, in West Van- couver.

It would appear high time for residential taxpayers to shift blame for rising taxes from our school board to our municipal government.

Paul J. Sykes West Vancouver

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Entire contents 1986 Noh Shore Free Press Ltd All nghts reserved

PIANNING A TRIP THiS WEEKEND?

Dear Editor:

On May 10 we were on our way home to Deep Cove after a long day at Expo and were waiting fora #239 bus at the Lonsdale Quay ex- change. For whatever reasons it was late, which meant another half hour delay for our connecting bus at Phibbs Exchange.

We explained this to a transit supervisor whom we know only as Jeff. He proceeded to help load the bus and then drove ahead to Phibbs to hold the other busses so that we and the other passengers could make the respective connec- tions.

We wish, through you, to thank him,

With all the criticism going around these days about public servants, we think it is time to in- dicate appreciation when service above the strict call of duty is rendered.

Richard and Mary Blackburn North Vancouver

Call for equality

Dear Editor:

I am confused over the reverse discrimination practised in our country.

We allow a smail sect of militant Sikhs to carry weapons of war. Yet other Canadians must not carry a knife over four inches.

This is not right. There must be equality. Through recert events they have shown us their irrespon- sibility to bear arms.

So either we all can bear arms or no one should bear arms.

Jim Morrison North Vancouver