Thank you, Mr. Chair. Could the Minister please explain how the budgets are developed for the regional education councils? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Debates of June 7th, 2016
This is page numbers 409-454 of the Hansard for the 18th Assembly, 2nd Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was going.
Topics
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
June 6th, 2016
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We give all the education authorities targets to meet every year and then they supply us with what they feel are going to need to do the work. A little more detail, I will actually ask my deputy minister to get into a little more detail.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Stewart
Thank you, Mr. Chair. As the Member is probably aware, there is a funding framework that goes with how we fund the various boards that is linked to any wage or salary-type information as well as benefits as well as enrolments is a key input to that. That is the basis on which we come up with an initial estimate across the various components that go into the contributions to the boards. Then the boards take that and develop their budgets off of those estimates that we give them for the initial amount, working within the framework that we give them for the total. We do give them the detail on what the funding for the framework provides under the various components: administration, inclusive schooling, Aboriginal language and culture-based education, as well as the territorial schools portion, which are the teachers, and then the boards work to develop specific budgets. Thank you.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Shane Thompson Nahendeh
I thank the deputy minister and Minister for their answers. In regards to this here, does this include junior kindergarten in the budgets in the salaries in here? Thank you.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake
Yes. A lot of the questions that we talked about yesterday when we were going through this, and the other K to 12 system as well. As this is an information item, it is in these areas as well.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Shane Thompson Nahendeh
Thank you for clarifying that. In regards to your guys' benefits and salaries, where do you guys earmark these numbers? How do you calculate them? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Stewart
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The wages and salaries are based on information that we get currently from the boards in terms of the incumbents that they have. In terms of benefits, it is a percentage of those salaries that we use to calculate the benefit amounts. It is a similar system than what the GNWT currently uses in terms of the rates that are used in those sorts of things. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Shane Thompson Nahendeh
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I would like to thank the deputy minister for his answer. When we talk about incumbents, is it based on their actual salaries or is it based on a calculation by the department for the next x numbers of years? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake
Yes. I know we have the NWT Association as well as the education authorities that have representatives under the collective agreement as well when we are looking at those areas as well. I will go to my deputy minister for more detail. It is right across the territory in terms of how the teachers are being funded. But the benefits, all those areas, we did give a brief presentation to committee in some of the ways we are going to be looking at fixing some of that, the way we fund our teachers. I will go to my deputy minister for more detail. Thank you.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Stewart
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Right now, we get information from the boards on their current suite of teachers and their salaries. We then do adjustments for any expectation, not just for teachers but for all staff, any expectation of staff increases, those sorts of things, and any collective bargaining increases that would be expected in the upcoming year. On that basis, we calculate the expected salary and benefit requirements for every board. That is what goes in for that portion of the budget, currently is the way we do it. Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Shane Thompson Nahendeh
Thank you, Mr. Stewart, for that answer. The reason I'm asking these questions is I know we had a presentation in camera, but my understanding is that's confidential so I'm trying to understand what's out there. Are you guys looking at changing the process of how you guys calculate these things for the boards, and have you communicated that change if it's going to be out to the boards?
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake
Yes. We're actually just going through that funding framework, but I will go to my deputy minister for more detail. Thank you.