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Chronicle IF YOU CAN‘T DECIDE BETWEEN A PATHFINDER AND A 4â€"RUNNER, DONT. Inserts delivered with this week‘s Waterloo Chronicle The Brick, Dansbury*, Transit Shoes® INSERTS The City of Waterloo may celebrate its 50th anniversary this sumâ€" mer with a family picnic in the PATK.:â€"â€"c<â€"â€"crss$ Opinion ......................C LENETS â€"â€"=mmemnsreaacnd Calendar.........:... 12 Spoits......~.......... 14 Classified ..................1S The Easter Bunny was the showstopper at a fundraising event for the Kid Zone at Bustard Chrysler last Saturday. Rebecca Joy Dunk, two months old, was one of a number of children who stopped by to have their picture taken with Peter Rabbit, while the parents had their cars washed outside. The goal was to raise more than $10,000 for the Kid Zone program which visits local schools. photo by Bob Vrbanac n mm BUY FROM "3U, mm n m iss *Selected areas only EASTER BUNNY MEETS EASTER BABY 12 14 19 There‘s a good chance Waterloo resiâ€" dents will see a zeroâ€"perâ€"cent property tax increase on the city portion of their 1998 tax bill, says the city‘s finance commuttee chairman. But the trouble is that neither Coun. Mike Connolly nor any other city resident will likely know what the 1998 city tax rate will be until midâ€"June. Waterloo‘s chief financial officer John Ford updated council on the status of the city‘s 1998 operating budget Monday night. But unfortunately, because the province still hasn‘t released its final new property assessment figures to the Waterâ€" loo regional assessment office, Ford said Delays create thaos‘ for city operating budget process WATIERLOO PUBLIC LIBKARYy Tim Gardner Chronicle Staff April 8. 199 ‘+30,410 ‘99/‘\1( ) city council will now likely not be able to give final approval to the city‘s operating budget until June. Ford said in an interview after Monday night‘s meeting that he now expected council would approve the city‘s proposed 1998 operating budget in principle, likely on April 27. But he said until city officials got the new assessment figures, council could not formally pass the bylaw and the new city tax rates could not be set. "If the assessment is available at the end of May â€" May 31 is when they‘re supâ€" posed to be here â€" 1 would expect the tax bills would be out in the mail probably by the third week in June, with a due date probably in the third week in July," Ford said. DOWN PAYMENT _ LEASE $4,500 §2759M0 $3,000 §122/M0 $1,500 $367/7M0 $0 $413/M0 Starnt MSMP af a base 1998 rodee t s 1008410 in Jor wnih ie ger 205 HP V6 ENGINE 214 FT.LB. OF TORQUE DUAL NEXT GENERATION AIRBAGS PUSH BUTTON SHIFTâ€"ONâ€"THEâ€"FLY kidrmdire‘ Liognse! in yfapes, ind tarms ard ertr (Continued on page 11 vtea OMer agoals to qualdwrt tat custbemere orty Retaits may laase or sefl it iss She Ratwte far Inrthe: 2. 744â€"5811 . ... ‘ lor 26 reorths inctudg irsght m fax and P01 Leace down payemant al $3.750 and $400 aecwenty deposs are requires 1 sase hasad an §0.006 Local educators feel that the province‘s shift in funding priorities could jeopardize student safety. _ Patti Haskell, director of education for the public board, said, "The board believes it needs to put its emphasis not only on the quality of instruction in the classroom, but on all the appropniate supports to that classroom around issues such as safety and security." The Ministry of Education‘s shift from nonâ€"classroom spending to classâ€" room instruction could mean less prep time for teachers. It could also mean a corresponding reduction in the number of support staff like guidance counsellors and janitors. The fear is that the shift in funding will mean that there will be fewer adults around to monitor the safety and security of schools. "What we have to ask ourselves is, how does this funding model change schools as we know them?" said John McCarthy. principal of Waterloo calâ€" legiate institute. "How does it affect some things like supervision? "This is one of the concerns of the new funding model. If teachers are asked to increase the amount of teachâ€" ing they‘re doing, then we do have a question of who is going to supervise in our halls and on our playgrounds and other areas that need to be superâ€" vised." Funding shifts cause student safety concerns McCarthy said it takes a lot of peoâ€" ple to keep schools safe and secure. That network includes everyone from secretaries to cafeteria staff It‘s also a concern for students. A recent safety and security survey. preâ€" sented at the last board meeting, showed that students‘ safety concerns increased as the level of supervision decreased. "Otherwise people are going to suffer and we don‘t want that to impact on our students in any way." Actions ranging from assault to harassment were more likely to occur on playgrounds or in smoking areas than in classrooms "There is a lot of violence at this smoking area," said Vanessa Donaldson, 17, standing outside Bluevale collegiate institute, Monday. "Sometimes there are two fights a day." SATURN SAAB ISUZU 4.WHEEL DRIVE * 4â€"WHEEL ABS * AIR CONDITIONING * LIMITED SLIP DIF 663 Victoria St. N., Kitchener at the Expressway 885â€"5090 of KITCHENER/WATERLOO Bob Â¥rbanac Chronicle Staff 1SUZLU "If teachers are asked to increase the amount of teaching they‘re doing, then we do have a question of who is going to supervise in our halls and on our VOLNO {Continued on page 2) Go farther