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it Sss ui p h RRDC CA the added advantage of 0,000 BTU side bumer. Great for preparing side IONS YOUR ECUE 7999 ing in your old w or dealer d delivery of See dealer features of a Regal 2 r barbecue is bui as Buy it now during our features reet Mall 743â€"7632 ided in on a . Tradeâ€"in SON DW ARE al 4 CUE Tradeâ€"in minum steel out the > HOME ‘ARE sauces, otc. 4 Side bumer is made from heavy duty, ©3 act now. w C.anen in 0o rmmeni n FBen: Nenac / hilitip mltetin Belmont Professional Centre 564 Beilmont Ave. W., Kitchener 741â€" NTACT LENS SPECIAI ‘"‘The public‘s right to know is not equivalent to vulgar curiosity. We have been as open as we can be," Ervin said. Last week, in response to stories appearâ€" ing in The Chronicle and Kâ€"W Record, Ervin issued a oneâ€"page statement that acknowledged for the first time that Flynn was given an $8,600 "severance allowâ€" ance" when he abruptly quit his job as the school board‘s top bureaucrat on May 19. A few days earlier, Ervin had said Flynn would receive only his vacation pay after his resignation takes effect on July 31. The severance payment is in addition to seven weeks‘ vacation Flynn was due, plus a 10â€"week paid leave of absence from the during a private meeting, according to Sounding frustrated and angry after two weeks of unrelenting questions about the Flynn departure, Ervin in an interview Monday lashed out at the "vulgar curiosâ€" ity" of the media and said Catholic school children and regional taxpayers will be hurt the most by the continuing controverâ€" Brian Reid Chronicle Special The separate school board â€" and Waterâ€" loo Region taxpayers â€" got a fair deal when the board agreed to give former education director George Flynn $8,600 in severance pay when he quit suddenly two weeks ago, the board‘s chairperson says. And school board trustees who think Flynn got a much higher severance packâ€" age simply weren‘t paying attention when Resignation package a good deal FOR U T RULOLROCE and CONTACT j _LENSE3, Waterloo trustee John Rodina and Kitchâ€" ener trustee Gerry Campbell have also publicly questioned the terms of Flynn‘s severance, and Ervin said Monday she may call another private meeting of the board to explain the deal again. ""I think they misunderstood something," Ervin said. "...If the trustees ask me to do it, obviously we‘ll have to sit down and discuss it again." However, on Friday, in a letter to has firmly refuted Ervin‘s comments, saying trustees were told on May 14 that Flynn‘s severance was equivalent to six months‘ pay, or $52,900. "They told us in a meeting that they paid him $52,900," Stemmler said. "Either we‘re being lied to or the public is being lied to. Somebody is being lied to." board that began the day he quit. In total, Flynn will receive an estimated $43,000 after quitting in the first year of a fiveâ€"year contract he signed last year. "Look at it from his point of view," Ervin said. ‘"He had four years left on his contract. He asked the board for a severâ€" ance allowance. What was presented to the board was $8,600 and the board accepted. "He wanted to go. He‘s gone," she added. "It did not cost ratepayers a lot of money." Ervin said the severance settlement was outlined in full by herself and the board‘s lawyer during a special private meeting of trustees on May 14. "It was crystal clear when it was preâ€" sented to the trustees. It was dealt with point by point. ... There was lots of opportunity to ask questions," she said. But Waterloo trustee Kalita Stemmler EYEQLASSES Ervin also disputed reports that trustees had been ordered not to discuss the situation in public. In fact, she said, the board had only accepted legal advice that recommended that any comments on the issue should be made by her or viceâ€"chair Steve Haller. ‘‘The legal costs are going to be astroâ€" nomical," she said, adding she "wouldn‘t be surprised" if legal fees reach $10,000. Ervin said the controversy surrounding Flynn‘s departure has hampered efforts to hire a replacement. Tony Truscello, a board superintendent, has been appointed interim director. We haven‘t made one phone call, placed one advertisement" in an effort to replace Flynn, Ervin said. "Not a thing has been done. I haven‘t had time. I‘ve been working 16 hours a day talking to reporters and "If this board doesn‘t have a new director by August 1, the children in the system will not be well served," she added Ervin said she plans to make public the board‘s legal fees for dealing with the issue, to show what the controversy has cost taxpayers. Ervin did say on Monday, however, that Flynn‘s severance package was drafted by Flynn‘s lawyer and a board lawyer and that she "wasn‘t party" to the negotiaâ€" Flynn‘s severance contract because it would violate the provincial Protection of Privacy Act. ?cmm!cr, Ervin_said she would not give