Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Displacing one group to accommodate another group
- Why does everyone at YK 1 have to move aside and be dispersed to allow a group of students from a different board to move in?
- If it is not okay for St. Joe's students to be separated, what makes it okay for YK 1 students to be? Who will be paying to bus these students?
- Why are YK 1 schools not good enough to share but are good enough to have?
- Why has an agreement not been reached; YK 1 wants to share space but YCS does not, is this where the deadlock is or is it at the government level?
- Why do people think that 250 YCS students being displaced is made better by displacing 250 YK 1 students?
- According to Minister Dent's figures, between 100 and 280 students need to be accommodated over a two-year period. Does this mean all students for two complete years, or various numbers at various times of the year, or all students at different times over the two years?
Financial - Fairness
- What is the cost of putting all the YK 1 students into different schools compared to putting 100 St. Joe's students into shared space at YK 1?
- Why does ECE want parents to put more money into YK 1 programs that they are already happy with?
- In light of this new funding for YK 1, losing $300,000 because it is now being funded based on enrolment/utilization as opposed to capacity, how will all NWT school boards be funded?
- What does ECE need parents to do so YK 1 will be funded in the same manner as all other boards in the NWT?
- Page 16 in the facilities report recommends that the GNWT find a better calculation for determining capacity. Will there be a review by ECE based on this recommendation?
- Minister Dent's letter states that reasoning for not having St. Joe's students housed in multiple schools is because of increased costs for administration and transportation of YCS students. What are the predicted costs for administration and transportation? How do these costs compare to the costs of YK 1 giving a school to YCS for two years?
Two Boards Sharing One School/One Board For Yellowknife
- Has a shared arrangement for a French immersion school been considered, similar to Alberta, where the Catholic and public systems share?
- What about one district sharing schools with two administrations; one Catholic and one non-Catholic?
- Why can't YCS students benefit from YK 1 programs?
- Is there another school district in Canada with two public school boards in one community?
- Would one school board be better than giving up one school to save money?
Shared Space - Well Received
- YK 1 opened their school to YCS after the fire, why can't this cooperation continue?
- What sense does it make to move all the students out of one school so another group of students can move in?
- Why is YCS opposed to sharing space?
- Why are YK 1 kids going to be shuffled? No parents want to save tax dollars at the expense of a child's education.
- This is a divisive situation, one that can cause ripples and reach far into the future, shouldn't shared space be the only option?
- What date is this decision being made?
- Shared space offers a perfect example of tolerance and unity, which both schools promote and teach. How does this situation reflect our values and what does it show the students of both boards?
- Is the Minister willing to openly listen to the concept of shared space? The wording of Mr. Dent's letter to YK 1 sounds like a decision has been made. Has it?
Parents' Handwritten Questions Left For Minister After The Public Meeting
- Disabled students need consistency. ECE is suggesting disrupting their education by moving; it will take a considerable amount of time to re-adjust. How do you explain to a child who doesn't understand why this is happening?
- What has been done to consider the effect of moving the students to different facilities?
- How can parents explain this situation to their children if ECE is not explaining their decision adequately to the parents of the affected students?
- Will there be space in YK 1 for the Montessori program to exist and expand?
- What about those parents who chose their housing location based on proximity to their children's school? Are those people expected to adjust and make up any costs in transportation et cetera as a result of this decision?
- Why isn't YCS being forced to deal with the impact of their choice to renovate, as YK 1 was during Mildred Hall renovations?
- If a school is taken away, where are the guarantees construction will only take two years?
- What precipitated the letter? I did read it as a directive. What discussions have taken place?
Additional Comments Made By Parents And Other Stakeholders
We Chose To Live By Our School Of Choice
Dealing With Renovations
Other
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, colleagues.