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Fax No. Another issue that bears revisiting is that of secondary school prep time. Cutting teachers‘ preparation time is being sold as a means of *having teachers spend more time with their students". On the contrary, what it does is force the teachers to spend time with more students (as a means of cutting the number of teachers). They were previously available for oneâ€"onâ€"one consultations their existâ€" ing students during their prep time, meaning that they will be spending LESS time with each student. Unless sufficient mumbers of government backbenchers feel the hear of public opinion, Bill 160 will pass as scheduled. The fight will then move to the courtrooms â€" and the ballot box. No government can afford to alienate 120.000 teachers. their families and thousands of parents and still expect 1 be reâ€"clected. That will perhapé be the ultimate victory in the fight over Bill 160. Any school board official or trustee that questions these cuts or other government policy can be fined and removed from office. If they don‘t like it, Bill 160 says that they cannot appeal to the courts. This is one of the aspects of the bill that is just begging for a constiâ€" tunonal challenge. We owe the teachers a lo! | from the education system, the govâ€" i ernment continues to fudge the $ numbers on education spending. Halfway through the strike, Finance Minister Ermnie Eves attempted to demonstrate that the government had actually increased spending on education. He did that by including 837 5 million dollars that normally would have been carried over to the next fiscal year (this was done because a large number of boards will cease to exist on December 31). Eves also played up the increase in pension contributions that kicked in after the end of the Social Contract. The government‘s own study, by Emst and Young, showed that savings from school board amaigamations would be about 150 million dollars. Where will the government get its addiâ€" nonal 550 million dollars in cuts if not the classroom? a mediocre m But, except h.**dw& not appear anywhere in the act. Some other significant word counts: I »J I Scott Piatkowski protest. Ironically, a far greater number of teachers have questioned the decision to end the strike than ever questioned the decision to walk in the first place (contrary to the speculations of some rightâ€" wing commentators). Uhimately, it is unfair to expect teachers to continue to bear alone the personal and financial cost of fighting this draconian piece of With Monday‘s return to the classroom, some â€" but certainly not all â€" of the wind has been taken out of the sails of the antiâ€"Bill 160 Waterloo Town Square 75 King St. South, Suite 201 OrPiviION " â€" 69 wimes; "student" â€" 1 time; "Minister (of Education)" â€" N2J 1P2 "fund" 154 times; "curriculum" â€" 0 times; "tax" â€" 124 times; "learning", 0 times; "power", 124 times; "testâ€" ing" â€" 0 times; "fee" â€" 84 times; "outâ€" comes" â€" 0 times, "levy" â€" 24 times; "skills" â€" 0 times; and "expense" â€" 16. Even after admitting its plan to another 700 million dollars Gerry Mattice Tim Gardner Carolyn Anstey Lynn Mitchell Bill Karges Jerry Fischer Denise Tucker Unless, of course, you were thinking about yielding to the educators, and you could hardly expect that. Harris and Company had too much political capital invested in the fight. Timing is everything, And I‘d say the teachers missed a glorious opportunity to return to the classrooms early last week after the government got that rude rebuff in the cours. That would have let the educators go back i solidarity with their heads held high. Instead they stayed out. They gave scant regard to kids and their ranks predictably gave way. Now it‘s on to more wrangling about the bill. There‘s been so much already that you‘re tempted to scream back at both sides, "The truth! The truth! How about the truth!" In a labor tangle, you expect some shading of fact on both sides, but this "political protest" has brought some bigâ€"time fibbing. Who‘s to say who‘s telling the truth? Add to that, the teachers, who should know better, splutterâ€" ing hyperbole about "fascism" and "Hitlerâ€"like" and so on. When it comes to word pollution, the teachers‘ strike was surely a toxic dump site. He Forgets: Dalton McGuinty, the Ontario Liberal leader, Yes sir, it‘s too bad future generations aren‘t here to see what we‘re doing with their money. Class Action: Who ever would have expectâ€" ed that Ontarios school system would get as messed up as it has been? Even the government was powerless to do much. The elections are over and, oddly enough, the sun came up as usual the morning after. Incidentally, every time 1 vote 1 feel as if I‘m electing the administration of a mediumâ€"sized counâ€" wy. If only they‘d make a combination voting booth/vending machine, then we could at least get something out of it. Big Wheels: By the way, from what we saw, not one Kitchener incumbent claimed any credit for the wowâ€"deeâ€"dow $250,000 skateboard venue at :‘nwwflwmmlybzpmud m it, ch? . NUI The truth! The truth! How about the truth! Chery! McMenemy Millie Martin Evan Mitchell Group Publisher: Chery] McMenemy _ The Waterloo Chronicle is published by The Fairway Group, a division of Southam Inc. The views of our columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of the newspaper 75 King St. S., Suite 201, Waterloo ON. N2J 1P2 886â€"2830 Once over Thursday, Nov. 20. There‘s more fun stuff on the program than 1 can list on a piece this short. e will be on hand, as well as celebrities from other sports fields. Every cent raised will go to Notre Dame of St. Agatha Children‘s Centre to open the new respite centre. The need is enormous and time is crucial since some desperate families have been waiting five years for respite assistance. The Fairway Group Subscription rates A division of Southam Inc. _ $45 yearly in Canada. A $90 yearly outside Canada +GSAT _ ' International Standard Serial Number 188N 08324410. > ** take courses in remedial thinking. e <og Helping Hand: Want to give a real hand to a new and desâ€" peratelyâ€"needed respite centre of Notre Dame of St. Agatha Children‘s Centre? _ _ Ringside: Champs for Children, will be a gala black tic (optional) fundraising event at Bingeman‘s Marshall Hall on in the community. By the way, theres been talk about a cabal of young folks directing the schools strategy for Harris. Minimally, the young ones should _ Apparently he‘s hoping that no one recalls his past Legislature speech, in which he passionately proposed a bill that would have limited the right of teachers to strike. has been riding the teachers‘ strike to a fareâ€"theeâ€"well, includâ€" ing proclaiming to cheering throngs that he‘d be out on the picket line with his wife, a teacher. es And, of course, it‘s merely a coincidence that the Harris government is facing all kinds of abuse on the school issue, and really doesn‘t need any more heat on hospital closings. Anyhow, 1 figure that St. Mary‘s Hospital is sale from any closing. Surely it has proven that it is operating effectively and filling a vital need Wards and Music: Health Minister Liz Witmer has ordered a hold on hospital closings pending a review to ensure that community health services are in place before any facility shuts its doors. By the way, only one person in a million understands the teachers‘ strike. Isn‘t it odd how I keep running into him? ©1997 Â¥akn Casate as make To m Ch $3 LE