THURSDAY AUGUST 29, 2013
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JUNO WINNER AT BAYSIDE
THE FATE OF CONSERVATIVES
In an exclusive interview, former MP Randy White talks provincial politics
David Myles plays Quality Inn Resort on September 17
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SCHOOL DISTRICT BUDGET SHORTFALL
Closures an option
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Cost-cutting measures may not be enough LISSA ALEXANDER reporter@pqbnews.com
Closing a school is an option the local school board may have to consider in order to cut costs, trustees heard during a meeting Tuesday night. “Obviously the talk of closure, that’s one thing we may have to consider,” School District 69’s secretary-treasurer Erica Bailey said at the board’s regular meeting. “And there are other options we can consider.” This was the first meeting for the board following a summer break. Bailey reported on work done over the summer to help meet budget targets and balance the budget. At the last school board meeting in the spring, a $1.2 million deficit was reported for the upcoming school year. Bailey said operations and maintenance staff with the school district had a busy summer closing sections of schools and classrooms to save money, as well as portables which cost the most to heat and provide electricity. In the end, 33 rooms or 28,050 sq. feet of space was closed, nearly equivalent to all the classrooms at Kwalikum Secondary School. The financial savings are projected to be $45,700, but that’s only a fraction of what could be saved if an entire school was closed, Bailey said Tuesday in her report. Sharing spaces with other organizations is a good alternative to closures, she mentioned, as is done at Family Place. According to Ministry of Education specifications, many of the schools in the district are much larger than they need to be, Bailey said, especially the middle schools and Ballenas Secondary School. See ELEMENTARY, page A7
LISSA ALEXANDER PHOTO
SUMMER SCENE: The sun sets on a warm summer’s evening in Qualicum Beach last week.
PROPOSED DEEP BAY DEVELOPMENT
Proponent asks for extension NEIL HORNER news@pqbnews.com
Although there were two delegations slamming the proposal for Deep Bay at the Regional District of Nanaimo meeting Tuesday night, the main blow to the plan came from the developers themselves. If approved, the proposal by Baynes Sound Investments Ltd. would see the addition of 386 residential units, commercial buildings, a 292-unit RV resort, community building, sewage treatment centre and park and open
spaces in Deep Bay. The Deep Bay Improvement District currently has roughly 1,200 residents, so the development would essentially more than double the population. Speaking as a delegation, Baynes Sound Investments representative Jim Crawford urged the board to extend a proposed Sept. 19 deadline for receipt of all pertinent documents relating to proposed changes to the regional growth strategy and official community plan, citing issues beyond his control. “We were given a list of 13 items to
give information by July 31,” he said. “Six of the submitted reports were found to be adequate and five were inadequate. One involves a missing letter from the Deep Bay Improvement District — over which we have no control. This has been an evolving process on both sides. Several new and revised reports have been requested and BSI is working diligently to address these shortcomings.” Crawford stressed that the planning department should not depend solely on a deadline date, but rather on the merits of the application.
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