Lisa Scott
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Sep 23/05) - Despite a surplus, Yellowknife Education District No. 1 needs to spend with care, say the district's accountants.

John Laratta with Mackay LLP Chartered Accountants told trustees that unknown events, like replacing a boiler or roof in one of its seven schools, could deplete its $755,214 surplus in a hurry.

"Then I guess everyone would have to wear a parka," joked Laratta.

At 3.2 per cent of its operating expenses, the surplus is enough to make trustees happy. It falls below the five per cent recommended by the GNWT.

Longtime trustee Terry Brookes spoke up about the positive results of the audit, recalling the district's $1 million deficit of four years ago.

Brookes was all for putting more money aside, but not at the expense of education.

Trustees passed the annual audit unanimously.

Window woes

Kids with rocks and good aim are causing headaches for maintenance staff at the district.

Dave Johnson, director of facilities and maintenance, told the board that vandalism over the summer and into the school year will cost the district between $20,000-$25,000.

Much of the window smashing happened in the weeks before school started, but has continued since then, said Johnson.

Among the window and protective window replacements are; seven at Mildred Hall, six at J.H. Sissons, four at William McDonald, one at Sir John Franklin, two at N.J. Macpherson and one at Range Lake North. French school Allain St-Cyr has suffered nine broken windows, to be paid for by the Francophone district.

"This year seems to be worse than others," said Johnson. The RCMP know about the problem, but as Johnson says, "You can't fingerprint a rock."

Talk about trip

Trustees and administration need to re-examine their policies after confusion over a trip taken by a board member.

Trustee Terry Brookes worried that a September trip to Lake Tahoe, Nevada by vice-chair Dale Thomson and superintendent Metro Huculak wasn't approved by the board before it happened.

Brookes worried about liability for the district and the accountability to the public for all expenses, especially one to a known tourist destination.

"We're often criticized for spending money on non-educational things," he told the board.

Huculak defended the trip to the Invitational Leadership Academy conference, something he's been attending for a couple of years. The only expense was $3,000 for airfare.

"The board has to look at professional development. They set the vision for the division," he said. The opportunity came up in the summer, when board approval is difficult to come by.

The board agreed that professional development is important for trustees and staff and approved the expenses at the Sept. 20 meeting.

A weekend retreat to go over policies is scheduled for this weekend in Yellowknife.

Website down

Parents and staff trying to check out the district website have been getting a blank page.

Technical difficulties affected the site over the summer and into early September.

According to Mel Pardy, assistant superintendent of education, the site needs a complete overhaul with links to each school in the district.

"You're going to see some big changes," said superintendent Metro Huculak.