Adam Johnson
Northern News Services
Friday, July 13, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - On Friday, the Yellowknife Catholic School board approved spending as much as $2.3 million on portable classrooms at Ecole St. Joseph.

The seven portables, which are slated to arrive in early August, are meant to alleviate a space crunch at St. Joe's as it prepares to undergo a three-year retrofit. They're also needed because of an August 2006 fire that destroyed four classrooms at the school.

The official announcement came during a brief special public board meeting July 6, where the motion was passed unanimously.

YCS assistant superintendent, business, Mike Huvenaars said the board made a preliminary agreement with the Alberta manufacturer to be "put in the queue" to purchase the modular classrooms, but needed the motion to finalize the deal.

Two of the portables will be will be purchased by YCS for $288,000, while the GNWT will pay for the other five, at an estimated cost of $770,000. The board and the GNWT will split the $1,225,000 transportation and installation fee. Of that, YCS covers $274,000, while GNWT pays $951,000. YCS's share will come from their accumulated surplus.

After the meeting, YCS chair Shannon Gullberg said she felt this was the best solution to the space crunch at the board's schools.

"This ensures that for this next school year, all the kids can come back to St. Joe's," she said, while a planned retrofit gets underway.

"I'm pleased the Department of Education and minister (Charles) Dent came to the conclusion that this was the way to go."

Attempts to house displaced St. Joe's students in empty public school district classrooms failed.

The plan for portables came to light in May when YCS officials met with parents at a public forum.

"Parents have an absolute right to be concerned that students are being appropriately accommodated," Gullberg said. "This should alleviate those concerns."

Last year, nearly 280 St. Joe's students were displaced to schools around Yellowknife, while the board attempted to figure out what to do with the school.

Huvenaars said the dates for arrival are not set in stone, as the portables will be shipped via barge from Hay River.

"The biggest logistical question mark is getting them across the lake," Huvenaars said. This is because weather and the availability of the barges (which work as far north as Holman) are not certain.

"We're hoping somewhere between Aug. 10-15."