The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

TERRACE BAY NEWS PAGE 11 MARCH 18, 1971 The following article wes taken from the Manitouwadge Echo, Thursday, March 4th edition: - LETIER TO THE EDITOR Dear Sir, There is a matter of concern to all citizens of Manitouwadge before the Lake Superior Board of Education. In the interest of improving the educational situation and the efficiency of operation it has been proposed that the High Schools in Schreiber and Terrace Bay be amalgamated under one principal effective September 1, 1971. The schools would continue to: operate as at present except that they would be under one prin- cipal and one administration. These schools have about 240 students each so upon amalga- mation, with a student body of less than 500 it would remain one of the smaller secondary schools in the province. Four or five years ago, as the result of an agreement between the two High School Boards involved, educational opportunities for students in the Schreiber-Terrace Bay area were improved with the addition of a Science Trades and Technology wing to the Terrace Bay High School. As part of this agreement Business .and Commerce courses and Grade 13 were established in the Schreiber High School. The two schools together offer a better selection of courses to the students of Schreiber and Terrace Bay than is available to the students of Marathon or Manitouwadge. Bus service is provided (9 miles) so that the students of either town can take advantage of the varied educational opportunities that are available. In effect, the two schools are one and each draw students from both towns. Because each town had its own High School Board each school "was headed by a principal. Two very small schools and two prin- cipals to look after them. The Lake Superior Board of Education was established py rhe Department of Education of Ontario on January 1, 1969, to administer the elementary and secondary schools of the district including Schreiber, Terrace Bay, Marathon and Manitouwadge. The new Board, with its Director of Education immediately started studies of how education could be improved in the district for the advantage of all concerned. One of the first moves was to close the old ( 50 years. ?) one room school at Rossport and bus the children to Schreiber where they could have all the advantages of a larger school with its increased educational faci- lities. Another was the closing of the Heron Bay school when Ontario Paper Company decided to abandon this townsite, the remaining children being transported to Marathon to much im- proved educational opportunities. In as much as the Schreiber and Terrace Bay High Schools were linked together in the education of the students of the two towns it appeared to be a logical move to propose the amalgamation of the two schools under one principal. This would insure a close liaison and a common educational policy for the betterment of education and would eliminated the obvious inefficiency and high cost of having two principals looking after what should be one school. For some reason a well organized group of Terrace Bay citizens are against this proposed amalgamation of the two high schools. This group has attempted to put pressure on the trustees of the Lake Superior Board of Education so that this proposed amalga- mation will not take place. It is repeated here that this amalgamation will not change the organization of education at the schools involved but will place them under one principal for the obvious benefit of all. The citizens of Schreiber, Marathon and Mani- touwadge should be aware that the elimination of one principalship will represent a saving of $20,000 to $25,000 per year to the Board.Divided among the four schools this means more than $5,000 for each of them. This year the Board has been directed by the Minister of Education to control its expenditures to attempt to stay within the cost ceilings established by the Department of Education. If this proposed saving is not made then the money available for each school will have to be reduced by this $5,000 or more to support this unnecessary principalship between the Terrace Bay-Schreiber High Schools. Is this what. the taxpayers of Schreiber, Marathon and Mani - touwadge want ? Why does this group in Terrace Bay oppose this amalgamation? It is possible that an answer may be found in briefs presented to the Board by Terrace Bay people. The briefs contained these suggestions: 1. Move Grade 13 from Schreiber to Terrace Bay contrary to the agreement mentioned earlier, - and 2. Eliminate Grade 13 in Marathon and bus these students to Terrace Bay daily. 3. Close the Schreiber High School and bus all students from Schreiber to Terrace Bay. This would involve the enlargement of the Terrace Bay High School at enormous cost to the tax- payers of all the towns. Terrace Bay residents already have the best educational facilities available in the district.Do they now wish to make things more difficult for the students of other towns and at the same time increase taxes in Marathon and Manitouwadge ? By blocking this amalgamation they may hope to achieve some or all of the above for Terrace Bay with disregard for the students or taxpayers of the other towns. If you are interested in this matter you shou 1d make sure that the Board members in your town know your opinion. The Board also accepts writ- ten briefs stating your position in the matter. Signed: A Trustee. The following article was taken from the Manitouwadge Echo, Thursday, March ITth edition. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Dear Sir, The letter by an unknown "Trustee" concerning the amalgamation of the Principalships of Terrace Bay and Schreiber High Schools must be questioned both in fact and intent. The following should be noted: continued page 20 +,