Yellowknife (Jan 28/05) - Public school trustees continued to defend their decisions over French programming as the second in a series of parent consultations was held Tuesday night.

"We did not have a hidden agenda," chairperson Reanna Erasmus assured the crowd of approximately 50 parents and teachers gathered at William McDonald school.

Board chair Reanna Erasmus speaks to a small crowd of parents and teachers at a Jan. 25 meeting about changes to the district's French programs.

"We are not going to go ahead with anything. We haven't decided if J.H. Sissons is going to be a single track school," said Erasmus in response to questions from parents about the proposed changes at the English and French K-5 school.

The Jan. 25 meeting was a replica of the first public information session, held at J.H. Sissons, Jan. 20, with many of the same faces in the audience.

Parent Ken Huss offered Statistics Canada numbers to contradict those provided to parents by the board to back up the review findings, calling those "flawed and somehow inaccurate."

Huss asked for a best and worst case budget for the plan's implementation from the board, which is relying on $137 million in federal funding available across the country. He also suggested that the recommendations were too big an undertaking for the "inexperienced" board.

Erasmus found herself defending the board's decision to discuss the final draft of the French review at an in-camera meeting in December.

She told parent Megan Holsapple the decision was to protect the privacy of parents and teachers whose names were included in the report.

Erasmus also told the crowd that the board has had support for the changes, as well as opposition, in the form of e-mails and phone calls.

Public anger

She suggested that fury from opposed parents was keeping supporters home out of fear.

"It's very intimidating for parents to come out in support of this when there are so many who are angry," she said, amid murmurs from the audience.

The district has been facing a public outcry since rumours about the possibility of J.H. Sissons becoming a single track French immersion school by September 2005 exploded in mid-January.

The single-track school was one of five recommendations the board plucked from a list of 11 provided by contractor Wally Lazaruk in the district-wide review of French programs.

The other three recommendations were beginning early (kindergarten) and late (Grade 7) immersion programs, phasing out current middle immersion (Grade 4) and adding intensive core French in Grade 6.

Assistant superintendent Mel Pardy and supervisor of French instruction Jean-Marie Mariez provided research data, funding information and possible scenarios for implementation of the programming changes during the meeting.

Both reiterated that those changes would only happen with board approval and if French immersion numbers supported them.

Alberta company Evaluation Plus conducted the review in September 2004, in response to district goals to increase enrolments and proficiency in immersion and core French programs.

The district is promising to release an action plan with dates for public information sessions and teacher sessions for February and March soon.