Wednesday June 10, 2015 (Vol. 40 No. o. 46)
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Purposeful paddling: A group of South Surrey breast-cancer survivors are gearing up to celebrate 20 years of strength, support and sisterhood. i see page 11
Overcrowding expected to continue
District seeks school timeline Tracy Holmes Staff Reporter
When it comes to where the long-awaited Grandview high school sits on the Ministry of Education’s new-schools priority list, the answer is a bit of a mystery. That’s because there is no such list, district superintendent Jordan Tinney said Thursday. “How can we understand where we are on the priority list if (there is) no priority list?” Tinney said in a discussion with district staff and elected officials, and editorial teams from Peace Arch News and Surrey Leader. The issue was raised during conversation on capital funding in the district, and efforts underway to convince the provincial government that Surrey’s unique position of growth deserves a degree of recognition when it comes to such funding. “Show us another school district that’s got secondary schools with kids running two shifts,” Tinney said, referring to flex schedules that were implemented at Earl Marriott and Lord Tweedsmuir secondaries four years ago in order to accom-
modate student overcapacity. “Nobody else is doing that… We are the only district that is in growth. Give us a correction for urban growth. There needs to be something that acknowledges we’re unique.” Tinney noted there is also a need on the district’s part to better-share its capital-projects situation with the public, noting that calls come in “all the time” asking about the new high school planned for Grandview, to take pressure off EMS. But when funding will come remains a mystery to the district. Ministry officials said by email that projects “must be… prioritized against other high-priority projects from across all 60 school districts.” “It should be noted that individual project requests are ranked against each other regardless of the school district requesting the project,” added spokesman Matt Silver. Silver described Surrey as “one of the few school districts which has had enrollment growth in the past 10 years,” and noted the province has invested more than $335 million in it since 2001. i see page 4
Parental panic over ‘misinformation’
No reduction in EAs Sheila Reynolds Black Press
Triple play
Boaz Joseph photo
Earl Marriott Secondary’s Ally Lydynuik gets airborne during the senior girls triple-jump event at BC High School Track and Field Championships, which were held June 4-6 at McLeod Athletic Park in Langley. For more, see page 25.
Father’s Day Look-A-Like Contest Please email your favourite Father/Child photo (prefer jpeg files), names and phone number to: ads@peacearchnews.com (subject line “Father’s Day”)
Despite widespread concern that Surrey students with special needs will receive less classroom assistance in the new school year, district officials assure there will be no cuts to service or educationassistant hours. Many parents of students with special-learning or health issues were told by school staff in recent weeks that their children would be receiving less classroom support from education assistants (EAs) starting in September.
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For example, Tina Keefe was initially informed that daughter Madelyn, who has a serious congenital heart defect, would have her EA hours cut from full-time to just eight hours per week. She was subsequently told the hours would be cut, but that it remained unclear how much. “This concerns me greatly for my child’s safety at school,” says Keefe, explaining her daughter was born with half a heart and has some developmental issues because she’s spent so much time in hospital. i see page 4
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