Mr. Speaker, I have a return to written question asked by Mr. Villeneuve on October 19, 2004, regarding school funding policies.
1. What portion of funding to divisional education authorities is allocated to assist families who reside outside the education district but have children registered in DEA schools?
No specified amount of funding by the Department of Education, Culture and Employment to DEAs is allocated for this purpose. Where a student lives outside of the boundary of a DEA but registers in a school and attends that school, then the DEA is given funding for that student at the same level as a student who lives within the DEA boundary.
For a student who registers but decides on home schooling, the DEA is funded as if the student was a half-time student. DEAs do not allocate funding to families. The funds must be used to educate the children who have registered in the district's schools. In the case of home schooling, the DEA will provide support by paying for pre-approved programs and materials and, where possible, by providing other supports.
2. Is the funding at the sole discretion of each DEA?
In determining how funding is spent, DEAs are required to follow rules and procedures set out in a number of documents, including the Education Act, the Financial Administration Act, departmental directives, collective agreements, the human resource manual, their own policies and, where agreed to, the policies set by their divisional education council.
3. What options, besides the home schooling option, would families have to address this problem?
The only options other than home schooling involve commuting to school, either on a daily basis or by making arrangements for the student to board close to the school that they are attending.
4. What direction is the Department of Education intending to take to eliminate this old problem?
This issue is not unique to the Northwest Territories. The department continues to support home schooling as an option and is taking steps to improve the delivery of on-line courses at the high school level. Parents who choose to live outside of education authority boundaries may consider both of these options.