Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to wish everyone in the Mackenzie Delta a happy Valentine’s Day, and also to all my colleagues here, everybody who’s gathered.

The 2013-14 budget anticipates reduced staff in the Beaufort-Delta Education Council. Right now funding to our education council is based on the number of students expected to enroll in school, not on the needs of children or the hardworking teachers and administrators.

My constituents in Aklavik and Fort McPherson tell me that they need more teachers. In Tsiigehtchic there is only one teacher for up to three grades.

There are serious gaps in the student achievement between small communities and regional centres. There’s less structure for early childhood development that paves the way for learning at school. If anything, children in our communities need more one-on-one support with their teachers.

Even a child who grows up in a healthy, stimulating environment often needs extra help to succeed. School can be a positive, motivating experience for children when teachers have time and resources that they need. A manageable workload also helps attract talented professionals to our small communities, exactly where the 17th Assembly

wants to increase a number of positions.

The funding formula for education councils fails to recognize the teacher in Tsiigehtchic who’s managing three grades. We really need to look at how we support the schools in our hamlets and villages. As a government, we may not be able to put state-of-the-art facilities in each of the 33

communities, but all the students in the Northwest Territories deserve an equal opportunity to succeed. We should staff our schools in a way that gives our future children a chance to succeed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.