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VOL. 25, NO. 107
Regional district lacks confidence in rail foundation Board wants task force to oversee rail service on Vancouver Island By Karl yu THe NewS bULLeTIN
CHRIS BUSH/THe NewS BUlleTIN
Photo finish
Shie Takahashi, left, Shiho Amemiya and Mie Uehara react to one another’s comments about the results of an impromptu iPhone photo session at Maffeo Sutton Park. The three Vancouver Island University students from Japan were enjoying a sunny afternoon break from classes Tuesday.
Report card shows improvement at Nanaimo high school By Karl yu THe NewS bULLeTIN
Despite the Nanaimo school district’s aversion to the Fraser Institute’s rankings, one of its high schools is being lauded by the rightwing think tank. According to the institute’s latest secondary school report card, Nanaimo District Secondary School is among 30 high schools in the province showing improvement over the past five years. The average exam mark was 68.4 in 2009 and was 70.2 per cent in 2013. Nanaimo District’s graduation rate
has always been more than the 92-per cent mark the past five years, but it hit close to 98 per cent in 2013. The Fraser Institute gave it an overall rating of 6.2 out of 10 in the report, which is up from the 5.3 given in 2010. Peter Cowley, institute director of school performance studies and co-author of the report, said the Nanaimo high school showed “statistically significant improvement” and made the list after analysis of a statistic underlying the overall rating out of 10. He said it is used to calculate, in a statistically valid way, the probability that numbers from the past five years represent actual change, as opposed
to random movement. “Essentially, we have to be 90-per cent certain that this set of five data points will reflect a real change, something that’s actually happening, as opposed to just random movement and that’s the case when speaking about Nanaimo District,” said Cowley. “What does this mean [from] an educational point of view? It simply means that somehow or other, the school has found a way, or circumstances have changed such that the kids are now achieving at a higher level than they were five years ago,” Cowley said. See ‘NARROW’ /11
A week after a tentative deal between Southern Railway and Via Rail was announced, the Regional District of Nanaimo passed a motion of non-confidence in the Island Corridor Foundation. Marc Lefebvre, a Regional District of Nanaimo director for Parksville, proposed the motion at Tuesday night’s committee of the whole meeting. The motion, which was passed by a majority of directors, still needs to pass a vote at an upcoming regular board meeting to take effect. Lefebvre’s motion We’re looking included a provision that would see at a much the regional district its support of wider-ranging affirm a task force of people with rail experience strategic to assist and “reindiscussion. vigorate the foundation” following consultation with First Nation groups and other regional districts. Lefebvre cited the deterioration of the rail line, lack of realistic capital funding and information provided on how taxpayer dollars and revenue are being spent on track repairs by the foundation among his reasons for the motion. Lefebvre said the current aim is to have a broader discussion about rail and public transportation among elected officials on Vancouver Island.
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