Written by the Jewish Tribune staff.
TORONTO ? One of the first causes Thornhill MPP Peter Shurman began fighting for at Queen?s Park following last fall?s provincial elections was special needs families, including more government funding for Zareinu Educational Centre of Metropolitan Toronto.
Shurman, one of the rare PC candidates to have claimed victory last October, told the Jewish Tribune that his advocacy isn?t limited to Zareinu and he?s been approached about the possibility of special needs funding for learning disabled children upon the news that She?arim Hebrew Day School will be closing at the end of this school year.
?The loss of She?arim is significant to parents and the community,? he said, and the question is whether there?s a way to get special needs funding channelled into the Jewish day schools. ?I?ve been working very hard from the get-go on this issue.?
What many people may not realize is that although Premier Dalton McGuinty won the election and part of his platform was against governmental support for non-Catholic religious schools, funding directed at institutions like Zareinu and to accommodate learning disabled students is a different matter.
?This is special needs,? Shurman explained, and there?s funding on a multi-ministerial level, including health. ?I don?t think anybody?s asking for it,? and it would require ?creativity? to solve the issue.
?I?ve been in touch with members of the educational community,? he added. ?I?m vitally interested in education and in special needs, from very little children up to ?kids? our age. There?s a huge gap, notably in York Region.?