13% school tax icrease recommended By Debbie Luchuk The Durham Board of Educa- tion finance and salary commit- tee has recommended a 14.6-per cent mill rate increase for Dur- ham Region for 1989. Under the proposed budget, subject o board approval next week,the mill rate for. Whitby public school supporters would increase 13.02 per cent. That means a supporter would pay $195 in education tax per $1,000 of assessment. For an average assessment of $5,500, public school taxes would be about $1,072. The proposed budget has few extras beyond basic increases in negotiated salaries (from pre- vious contract talks) for person- nel and to reflect inflation. Staff presented a basic budget including only the contract in- creases, existing or mandated programs, personnel and plant, capital expenditures and the costs of inflation for current pro- gramming, and seven programs that they felt trustees should implement in the budget. The programs that staff dee- med of highest priority for the budget were new program initia- tives, plant maintenance projects for four schools and paving, fire alarm upgradings and ancillary space upgrading, the new trans- portation policy (that the board could not afford to implement last year), capital non -allocable projects, four board-wide pro- grams (elementary computers, secondary instrumental music, social workers for secondary schools and total Team public relations program), in addition to staff personnel requests and the Gr. 5 swim program. The only cuts that were made from these items were the pro- gram initiatives, three elemen- tary social workers, half a posi- tion for a multicultural and race relations consultant, and a vice principal for continuing educa- tion. "The belief in putting things off forever until someone else pays is outdated," said Pickering trustee Lyn Craig at last week's finance committee meeting. "I support the increase (in mill rate). When another trustee ques- tioned the increase to 14.6 per cent, staff replied that current programs and capital expendi- tures, pay increases for person- nel and inflation would already indicate a need for a 12-per cent increase in mill rate. Trustees were asked whether they wished to use their financial reserves to augment funding from the Province and taxpayers' contributions. However, business superinten- dent Brian Cain advised against this, sayingthat the extra dol- lars were etr saved for the possibility that junior kindergar- ten may become a provincial mandate. "We're looking at $10-million for future junior kindergarten and senior kindergarten pro- grams. This $10-milhon will be a gross cost, and will not be a net SEE PAGE 26 GILLIAN COUPERTHWAITE, a kindergarten stu- dent at Col. J.E. Farewell public school, gives it her best as students jumped rope for the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Vince Ohprecio-Free Pres photo INSIDE BUSIl~1NTE S S 1NEW S Pages 15 to 17 Two Whitby teenagers died last Sunday afternoon when the motorcycle they were riding went out of control and hit a median on Manning Rd., east of Garden St. Andrew Jamieson, 16, of 419 Rosedale Dr. and John David Twig, 17, of 410 Dovedale Dr. di in the accident. Durham Regional Police say the two were taking a 550cc Kawasaki motorcycle out for a test drive. They were heading west on Manning Rd., when the ANDREW JOHN DAVID JAAIESON TWIGG driver lost control. Police don't yet know who was driving. Witnesses to the accident said the motorcycle was travelling at a high rate of speed. Jamieson was pronounced dead- at the scene while ambu- lance attendants performed car- diopulmonary resuscitation on Twigg both at the scene and en route to Whitby General Hospi- tal. Twigg was pronounced dead at the hospital. One of the attendants perform- ing CPR on Twigg was an off- duty Oshawa ambulance atten- dant. Ron Sistermans was playing softball in the park on Maning Rd. when he heard the ambu- lance sirens. He assisted the attendants as they tried to resus- citate Twigg. Sistermans said the first per- son at the scene of the accident was an off-duty Whitby fireman who also began performing CPR on Twigg. Sistermans, an ambulance attendant in Oshawa for one year, said it was the worst motorcycle accident he had ever seen. Jamieson had dropped out of Gr. 11 at Anderson CVI two months ago while Twigg was a Gr. 11 student at Harwood Ave. school in Aax. Region tax increase may be 19 per cent By Mike Johnston The Durham Region portion of 1989 tax bills will likely soar 19 per cent higher than last year's. The Region's finance commit- tee met last Wednesday to review the budget and recom- mended the 19 per cent increase be sent to council for approval. That is down 0.8 per cent from the figure committee and council had recommended in principle three weeks ago. The slight decrease, which represents approximately $400,000, came after varous departments took one last look at their budgets and made cuts. The average Whitby t with an assessment of 0b, wIl pay $379.23 for the regional por- tion of their tax bill, an increase of $54.45 over last year when the average taxypayer paid $324.78. The budget was to go to regional council today (Wednes- day, Ma 3) for approval, but some.higLgtsare: - $$625,000 for the 911 system which N'ould allow the service to be operable within 18 to 24 months; - $2-million contribution to the Region's waste disposal reserve fund for a waste disposal site (it is going to cost Durham $40.9- million for waste disposal in 1989 including a $16.9-million payment to Metroplitan Toronto for use of the Broc West landfill site.) - The approval of 201 new positions, including 101 for the Durham Regional Police and 36 for homes or the aged in the SEE PAGE 14 ,4 4~~4* 4 ~ 4 4~~4 4 Two teens die in motorcycle accident Bringing the outside inside See page 10 Education Week See pages 24-25 4,,44,,toi,0-e4%$#0