Yellowknife (Feb 11/05) - Yellowknife Education District #1 trustees want to make information on the French Revitalization Project "user friendly" and "understandable."

Trustees approved a plan to hire a communications consultant to release statistics, parent and teacher questions, and other information on the proposed changes to French programming across the district at a Feb. 8 meeting.

None of the information will be new, though, according to chairperson Reanna Erasmus.

The contract will be a short one-time only stint, with the information to be released as soon as possible, says Erasmus.

As for the continuing consultation with parents and staff about the changes, Erasmus says it's going well and no decisions have been made.

The absence left by the December resignation of trustee David Lovell has been filled.

Mary Lou Cherwaty, a longtime Yellowknife resident with one child in the public system, was sworn onto the school board Tuesday night. "Now you're signed, sealed and delivered. You're ours now," joked chairperson Reanna Erasmus.

The board used results from the October 2003 municipal election when looking to fill the spot. After eighth-place finisher Debbie Weir declined, Cherwaty was next in line.

"I want to try to make a difference and commit myself to education," she said after the short ceremony.

The search is on

The school board is actively seeking out a new superintendent to fill Judith Knapp's shoes come July 1, 2005.

Dale Thomson proposed a motion to contract the search of a new CEO to Dr. Leroy Sloan. The motion passed unanimously. The board decided not to renew Knapp's two-year contract Dec. 14, but never disclosed their reasons.

Sloan, who is employed with the Alberta School Board Association, was responsible for Knapp's CEO evaluation completed Nov. 8 and passed by the board Nov. 9.