Friday, February 25, 2011 Surrey/North Delta Leader 3
High schools: Changes coming From page 1 In an editorial board meeting with The Leader and Peace Arch News Wednesday, McKay, as well as Surrey Board of Education chair Laurae McNally and vice-chair Shawn Wilson, shared the ongoing financial strains and complexities faced by the ever-growing district. Surrey ushered in more than 800 new students last fall and is expecting another 1,167 or so to arrive this September. The city is different than any other in B.C., most areas of which have declining enrolment and are looking to close schools because there aren’t enough students to fill them. “The case the board has made relentlessly ... is we need a made-in-Surrey solution,” said McKay “We do not fit the mould,” added McNally. The opening of Adams Road Elementary in Cloverdale this year represented the last of the capital money the province approved for the Surrey School District. That was back in 2005. Apart from funding for seismic improvements and dollars targeting full-day kindergarten space, no building money has been sent Surrey’s way for six years. Even if the $250-million cheque the district fantasizes about was delivered today, it would be 2013 or 2014 before a new school would open here. In the interim, the district is trying to come up with temporary fixes that still serve students and parents well. “If you don’t have control of the purse strings and your enrolment continues to grow, what do you do?” asked McNally. Time and space, the district decided, are the only variables left to consider. Two secondary schools – Lord Tweedsmuir and Earl Marriott – have already decided to adopt a version of a flexible schedule this fall that would see the school day extended to five blocks from four, with students perhaps starting earlier or staying later than they do now. And every other high school in the district is also being asked to assess its needs and explore alternate scheduling options. Some may not need to vary things too much, while other schools may choose to make more significant changes by September. “It will look different in every secondary Laurae McNally school,” said McNally. During public consultation sessions held last fall, the district heard consistently that residents wanted to ensure their kids can get into their neighbourhood schools, that they can get the courses they want, that choice programs like French immersion have stability and won’t be moved from location to location, and that portables are temporary solutions only. The hope is that making scheduling more flexible and/or thinking outside the conventional school day might achieve those desired goal – at least temporarily. Apart from capital funding woes – money that pays for school buildings and other physical space – the district is also facing a $10-million operating budget shortfall. Operating money pays for things such as salaries, programs, supplies, utilities and services that generally keep schools functioning.
“If you don’t have control of the purse strings and your enrolment continues to grow, what do you do?”
EVAN SEAL / THE LEADER
Surrey remains one of the few school districts in B.C. where student enrolment continues to increase each year.
See $400,000 / Page 4
Police release list of B.C.’s 10 most wanted Two men are from Surrey by Kevin Diakiw TWO OF B.C.’s 10 most wanted are from Surrey.
The RCMP released a list this week of the top 10 most wanted suspects in the province. Dean Jeffrey Anderson is wanted by the Surrey RCMP for assault with a weapon, assault causing bodily harm and breach of probation. He is well known to police and is considered a violent offender. He is alleged to have hit someone with a bottle outside a bar in North Surrey. He is Caucasian, 41, 5’11”, weighing 221 lbs and has brown hair and brown eyes. He is considered armed and dangerous, and the public is warned not to try to apprehend him. If you see him, call 911 immediately, or to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. Also making the list is Apollo Alex Verde from Surrey, who is wanted for 32 counts of fraud or fraud-related offences. He is alleged to have committed extensive credit card fraud as well as obtaining unauthorized access to credit data from one of Canada’s largest credit reporting agencies.
Dean Jeffery Anderson
Apollo Alex Verde
The illegally obtained credit information allegedly allowed Verde to access bank accounts and also obtain high value credit cards. Many of these credit cards found their way to Las Vegas area casinos, where large cash advances were obtained. During this investigation police discovered that Verde had also allegedly been involved in the fraudulent transfer
of land titles. Police say he went so far as to steal the title to a property owned by his own mother and then obtained a mortgage on the property, using those funds to finance a Ferrari. Verde is also wanted for related offences in Ontario, Alberta, and the United States. He is described as an Indo-Canadian, 38 years old, 5’8”, weighing 185 lbs with black hair and brown eyes. He is formerly known as Jaspal Singh Virdi of Surrey. If you see him, call the nearest RCMP detachment, or to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. “We asked detachments and specialized investigative units across the province for the names of their most wanted suspects,” said Insp. Tim Shields, senior spokesperson for the RCMP in British Columbia. “These 10 are the names we got back. They are wanted for violent and serious offences, and the sooner we can get them off our streets, the better. We also want to send these ten wanted people a message: The public are now watching for you as well, and you have nowhere to run and hide.” For the full list of B.C.’s Most Wanted visit the BC RCMP website at http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/bc/most_wanted-eng. htm kdiakiw@surreyleader.com