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DISCOVERY
Tuesday, May 19, 2015 ADVANCED EDUCATION: NORTH ISLAND COLLEGE
80 million-year-old fossil found by boy The provincial funding for each student attending North Island College is significantly less than most other post-secondary institutions, but financial support has actually increased in recent years, says the province. [ERIC PLUMMER, TIMES]
Funding disparity for NIC nothing new, says rep ERIC PLUMMER ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES
Jack Bartlett inspects the ancient fossil he found at his home in Port Alberni. The brachiopod is estimated at 80 million years old. [KRISTI DOBSON, TIMES]
Alberni lad sparks interest from Royal B.C. Museum with artifact KRISTI DOBSON ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES
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hen Jack Bartlett smashed a rock at home, little did he know he would discover 80 million-year-old fossils inside. The Grade 3 Wood Elementary student fell upon the find by chance and according to the Royal BC Museum, the fossil appears to be a local-area brachiopod. When Bartlett’s family moved into their new home last summer, the large rock had been used as a door stop. Bartlett said his mother threw it outside and that is where he and his friend found it about two months ago. The two children started smashing the rock for fun and when it broke open, they saw some shell-like pieces inside. About a dozen in total. “I didn’t know it was a fossil,” Bartlett said. “I thought people were making some kind of art by putting seashells in there.” Bartlett has since learned much more about brachiopods. He brought the fossil to school and it peaked principal Gio Selva’s interest enough to contact the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria. It was sent there to be examined and returned to Bartlett with fur-
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ther information. A brachiopod is a marine animal with valves that lived on the sea floor. They lived on Vancouver Island millions of years ago and some date back as far as 300 million years. “If this one was found in Port Alberni, they said it would be 80 million years old,” Bartlett said. The museum staff said his fossil had been compressed through geological processes so it was hard to identify, but appears to be a Cyclothyris suciensis. The letter addressed to Bartlett said it was a good find and encouraged him to keep exploring and learning about history and geology. He has been poring through pages of information sent from the museum. “My friends thought it was really cool and asked a lot of questions,” he said. The study of historic rocks has become more of an interest and Bartlett intends to display the tiny fossils on a shelf in his bedroom. “I was lucky to find it and am going to try to find more,” he added. Kristi.Dobson@avtimes.net 250-723-8171 ext. 234
North Island College is far below British Columbia’s standard for the amount of subsidies provided by the province, but funding for the school has increased over the years, says the B.C. Ministry of Advanced Education. Funding disparity has been identified recently by NIC representatives, who stress a recent report from the college stating that the typical student attending the institution benefits from $139 in annual support from the provincial government. Meanwhile the average funding for rural colleges across the province is $217 per student, with Selkirk College in the west Kootenays receiving $314 for each person enrolled. This inequality is nothing new said Tony Bellavia, NIC’s assistant vice-president of access and regions. “It’s been a historical inequity in terms of how the college is funded,” he said during a presentation to city council on May 11. “There’s a very high disparity in per-student funding, North Island College is very low on the scale,” remarked Coun. Ron Paulson. Last year North Island College served 9,110 students in its Campbell River, Comox Valley, Mount Waddington and Port Alberni campuses as well as at a learning centre in Ucluelet. The institution is heavily reliant on provincial funding, which totalled almost $30 million for the 2013-14 school year – accounting for 77 per cent of revenue. Enrollment in various courses and programs has
Camping season began on long weekend
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Two evenly matched teams battled in the first game of the playoffs. Concrete Impressions took advantage of Mike Lange’s absence and outscored the Dave Ralla Magic. » Sports, 5
“It’s been a historical inequity in terms of how the college in funded.” Tony Bellavia, North Island College’s vice-president of access and regions
grown by 524 students since 2008, with the Port Alberni campus increasing by approximately 30 individuals to last year’s total of about 750. But provincial backing has not kept up with this trend, according to NIC president Jack Bowman. “We’re not getting our fair share,” he said during a recent visit to Port Alberni. “Our tax dollars are going to support other programs elsewhere.” In response to this claim, the B.C. Ministry of Advanced Education said that funding for NIC has actually increased in recent years, including $392,000 for 59 trades seats from 2014 to 2016, a $140,000 investment in equipment for trades programs and $125,000 over the last two years for an employment transition and construction labour program in Port Alberni. “Since 2001, government has increased operating grants to North Island College by 19 per cent from $17.4 million in 2001-02 to almost $21 million in 2015-16,” said a ministry spokesperson in an email to the Times. “Government allocates funding to public post-secondary institutions based on the mix of programs offered at each institution and not on a per-student or per-capita basis.” See EDUCATION, Page 3
Inside today What’s On 2 Alberni Region 3
Opinion 4 Sports 5
ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES VOLUME 66, NUMBER 95
Scores 6 Comics 7
Taste 8 Classifieds 9
Nation & World 10
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