For immediate release
October 1, 2001

Trustees still to meet with
Parliamentary Assistant

        Today at 11:00 a.m. Trustees from the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board were scheduled to meet with Garfield Dunlop, Parliamentary Assistant to Janet Ecker, Minister of Education. Unfortunately, Mr. Dunlop could not be in attendance but has assured Trustees of an alternate meeting time in the next two weeks. Instead, Trustees met briefly with staff from Mr. Dunlop's office.
        Chair Audrey Carter introduced the meeting agenda to discuss the impacts of the Student Focussed Funding Model on the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board. The Board is underfunded in the areas of Transportation, School Secretarial, Principals / Vice-principals, and School Operations and with declining enrolments projected, the situation will only worsen.
        Judy Edgar, Vice-chair, highlighted some of the great programs and services currently offered to students and touched upon a few of the achievements of students and staff.
Carter, and Trustee Carl Pitman presented both the long term financial situation and the immediate impacts of the Student Focussed Funding Model to Mr. Dunlop's staff.
        Also in attendance at the meeting were Trustees, Cliff Cotton and Sam Clements. Larry Langdon, Director of Education, and Dave Rutherford, Superintendent of Finance, attended as resources for the meeting.
        Local Liberal MPP's Leona Dombrowsky and Ernie Parsons showed their support for the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board by accepting the invitation to join with Trustees at today's meeting. The MPP's also hosted the delegation from the Board in the members gallery and arranged for Trustees to speak with Gerard Kennedy, Education Critic for the Ontario Liberals.
 

For information contact:
Audrey Carter, Chair, Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board, 969-8208
Larry Langdon. Director of Education, HPEDSB, 966-1170 ext. 2257
 

Please note: a copy of the document "Long Term Enrolment Projections and the Resulting Funding Implications", presented today, is available upon request from Tara Hall, Communications Officer, 966-9491 ext. 2354.