YELLOWKNIFE - Yellowknife Catholic Schools has not renewed a lease on classrooms at N.J. Macpherson school, saying it wants a better deal.

Up to 250 students may need to be displaced from St. Joseph school next year for a retrofit after a fire last summer destroyed four portable classrooms attached to the facility. - Christine Grimard/NNSL photo Current Lease Space: 4,155 square feet usable classroom and office space Cost: $40 per square foot per annum. Paid to end of February: $109,279.86 for classrooms at William McDonald and NJ Macpherson schools. Coverage: Monthly rent covered janitorial costs, repairs, maintenance, security, snow removal, utilities. Additional Fees: $200 per month for use of photocopier and related costs Access: Unimpeded access to dedicated space (classrooms); access to stage to "cause the least amount of disruptions to ESJS students; access to specialty rooms (computer lab, gymnasium) "at the sole discretion of NJM administration so that NJM students are not disrupted."

On Tuesday, Yellowknife Education District No. 1 vice-chairperson Duff Spence told public trustees that Yk 1 had not received notice whether the Catholic board was going to renew the lease.

Students and staff from Ecole St. Joseph school have been using classrooms at N.J. Macpherson since August after a fire destroyed four classrooms and a mini gym at St. Joseph's.

Catholic students were also housed at William McDonald school for the first two months of this school year. They have since returned to St. Joseph's.

Mike Huvenaars, assistant superintendent business with YCS, said negotiations on a new lease are being held up by a "political process" involving discussions with the Minister of Education.

"There will be a lease next year," said Huvenaars. It was clear last August that the St. Joseph's students would be at N.J. Macpherson for the 2007-2008 school year because new classrooms wouldn't be built until at least then.

Metro Huculak, superintendent of education for Yk1, said he sent a letter April 4, asking YCS to outline its needs by today so it can have a budget ready for a public meeting April 18.

"If we have to make space available, we have to look at that," said Huculak. "We're making the gesture to show that we know there are no plans for new space."

Kern Von Hagen, superintendent of YCS, said there is no use in renewing the current lease. The lease was negotiated by YCS's insurance company.

"If it's the same terms as last year, there's no point in even talking about renewing that lease," said Von Hagen.

He said that while YCS is grateful for the space this year, conditions of the lease made sharing space difficult.

Von Hagen didn't explain the problems, and Huvenaars said he did not want to discuss the nature of those conditions while negotiations were under way. Complicating the negotiations is YCS's need to house up to 250 students displaced by a retrofit planned for St. Joseph's over the next three years.

"We don't want our kids scattered all over the place," said YCS chair Shannon Gullberg.

In March, Education Minister Charles Dent said he would cut funding to Yk 1 if it didn't close a school that could then be used to house students from St. Joseph's.

He said the closure made sense because there are too many empty classrooms in Yk 1 schools. The Yk 1 board has refused to close a school, saying it would prefer to share its space with YCS.

Von Hagen acknowledged there have been minimal discussions on what the arrangements will be for the students next year.

"We definitely need to sit down at a table; we need a solution."

Who's going to pay for the leased space next year also has to be decided.

YCS's insurance company was only willing to pay the lease for this year, as it calculated that's how long it would take to reconstruct the destroyed classrooms.

Huvenaars said the only indication he has up to this point that ECE will pay for the lease next year was in a letter received by Yk 1 in February.

The letter, asking the board to close one of its schools, said that $300,000 would be redistributed to the Catholic school board.