Mr. Speaker, I have a return to written question asked by Mr. Yakeleya on May 10, 2007, regarding supports for secondary school students.
- Can the Minister provide to me as to how the funding formula for small high schools ensures that core courses that our students can take and will get them into universities and/or colleges?
The per student funding that a school receives is greater for small high schools than it is for large ones. For instance, the average per student amount in the Sahtu is approximately $18,700, whereas the average per student amount in Fort Smith is approximately $13,200. Some of this difference is due to location factors, but some is due to the size of schools as well.
In the case of very small high schools, such as Colville Lake with approximately seven students, a special formula for senior secondary small schools applies. In the case of Colville Lake, the school receives approximately $30,000 per student.
In regard to student access to courses needed for university and college entrance, providing diversity of courses is difficult in a small high school. Indeed, the courses offered might be limited to those that are suitable for the majority of students in the school.
If students need a particular course that is not offered at their school, such as chemistry or physics, in order to meet the entrance requirements for the postsecondary program they wish to pursue, they may have to take that course either on line or through other distance education options available to them. A parent may also choose to discuss alternative options with the school and the local district education authority.
- Can the Minister explain to me how students in these small high schools, who want to take courses such as biology, chemistry or grades in their community?
Providing diversity of courses is difficult in a small high school and the courses offered might be limited to those that are suitable for the majority of students in the school. If students need a particular course that is not offered at their school, such as chemistry or physics, in order to meet the entrance requirements for the postsecondary program they wish to pursue, they may have to take that course either on-line or through other distance education options available to them. A parent may also choose to discuss alternative options with the school and the local district education authority.
- Who is responsible for paying the cost of sending students to other high schools to take courses that are not offered in our small high schools?
Where a DEA makes an agreement with another school in order to allow a student to attend classes there, the student's home DEA would pay an amount to the receiving school's DEA, to compensate them for educating the student for the year. Generally, the per student amount allocated by the department to the home DEA in accordance with the funding formula is sufficient to cover the costs of educating a student in the other district. The home DEA may, in some cases, be able to assist with funds to home board the student during the school year.