PENTICTON WESTERN
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Developer unveils plans for new resort across from Skaha Lake
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VOL.46 ISSUE 71
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Birds find second chance at South Okanagan rehabilitation centre
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2012
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Pentastic Hot Jazz Festival
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sports Black Opel racing team sets new world record in Bonneville
UNION DISMISSES AMALGAMATION However, itās not something that Okanagan Skaha Teachersā has been discussed recently with her Union president sees no or the provincial superintendentsā ascost savings in combining sociation, she said. school districts The head of the local teachersā assoJoe Fries Western News Staff
Mark Brett/Western News
BACK TO THE BOOKS ā Carmi Elementary teacher Christie McRobb helps Asia Krickemeyer with some reading work during the first day back to class for local students Tuesday. Drivers are also reminded the 30 km/h speed limits are once again in effect in school zones.
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Itās an interesting idea, but the time hasnāt come yet to amalgamate B.C.ās 60 school districts, Education Minister George Abbott told reporters last week. In his annual back-to-school conference call, Abbott said ministry staff had done some unspeciĀæed legwork on the idea, which is seen as a potential cost-saver for the cash-strapped public school system. āWeāre beyond early, but (there is) a lot of work to be done yet,ā he said, adding ministry staff have been instructed to explore the elimination of disincentives to amalgamation. While Abbott appreciates the beneĀæts of smaller school districts, like their ability to innovate and respond to local needs, he said there are probably some whose size or location would lend themselves to amalgamation. At the very least, some could share administrators. However, politics seem to have gotten in the way. āAt a time of tremendous challenges in labour relations and a very dynamic and positive time in renewing the education system, I wasnāt going to burn a lot of political capital on trying to push amalgamation of districts,ā Abbott explained. Okanagan Skaha School District superintendent Wendy Hyer said the issue tends to come up every now and then, āespecially around election time.ā
ciation shot down the idea outright. āIt doesnāt end up saving money at all,ā said Leslea Pryde, president of the Okanagan Skaha Teachersā Union. āYou still need people to work in these areas, even though theyāre all amalgamated into one.ā Local autonomy is her key concern. āIf we were amalgamated with Central Okanagan, well, they do things way differently. Their needs are different than schools in Summerland, for instance, and schools in Penticton. And that has to be taken into account, too,ā Pryde said. Abbott also touched on related cost-cutting suggestions contained in a study the ministry commissioned to explore ways to trim spending and enhance services. Deloitte, which prepared the report this summer, came up with 25 key suggestions, which ranged from districts sharing printing service to contracting out all student transportation. Abbott estimated that if districts picked just the ālow-lying fruitā from the report, it could save the system up to $60 million annually. Hyer said her district has already partnered up with others to save money, including buying new buses as a group and paying the school district in Kelowna to administer its small number of WorksafeBC claims. āWeāre always looking for ways of doing things cheaper,ā Hyer said. Abbott, a Liberal MLA, announced last week that he would not seek reelection in May. Heās expected to be shufĆed out of cabinet this week.
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