Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, the extension of senior secondary grades in each region means that fewer and fewer students are travelling to Yellowknife to attend school. The budget for the department which has gained the agreement of this Assembly included the closure of Akaitcho Hall. In addition, the decrease in the number of regional students attending school in Yellowknife means that the Board of Secondary Education, which has been administering Sir John, is no longer appropriate.
As a result, I am pleased to announce today that it has been agreed by Yellowknife Education District No. 1 and myself that we proceed to negotiate the transfer of responsibility for Sir John Franklin Territorial High School to the public school board, effective July 1.
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Under the agreement, the Board of Secondary Education will be dissolved on June 30.
For many years, parents of students in the Yellowknife public school system have been asking for direct authority for the education of their children, from kindergarten to grade 12. With the transfer of responsibility for Sir John Franklin, parents will have that authority.
Students from outside Yellowknife who attend high school in the city will be accommodated through agreements developed by their divisional board and either the Yellowknife public school board or the Yellowknife Catholic school board. These agreements will ensure that the needs of regional students are recognized, and will emphasize that divisional boards and community education councils are accountable for the delivery of education for those students, parents and families they represent.
The Yellowknife public school board and the Yellowknife Catholic school board may both participate in the negotiation of agreements with divisional boards for senior secondary education. Both districts will be providing home boarding programs. The Catholic school board is already responsible for programs from kindergarten to grade 12, as will the public school board, starting in July.
My department and Yellowknife Education District No. 1 have agreed that the education district will hire any staff beginning their duties at the high school this fall. Arrangements will be developed to accommodate existing staff who belong to the NWT Teachers' Association and the Union of Northern Workers. It is our target that these arrangements be concluded by July, 1994.
The department and the education district are committed to consulting with the parties affected by the transfer as it progresses. A working committee has begun consultations, as well as drafting the necessary detailed arrangements.
Madam Speaker, it is important that parents have the means to guide the education of their children throughout their school years. I am pleased that the extension of senior secondary grades in each divisional board means that parents across the NWT are able to maintain a closer link to both guide and support the education of their children. I am also pleased that grade extensions have resulted in Yellowknife parents gaining the authority they have been seeking. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
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