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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The age of elected school boards in the city is possibly coming to an end, according to Michael Miltenberger, the territorial cabinet minister tasked with merging education, health and housing boards into single entities.

Duff Spence: "Our board has been around for 70 years and the people of Yellowknife are happy. I'm still very unclear in terms of what problem he is trying to fix." -

Yellowknife has three elected school boards: Yk Education District No. 1, Yellowknife Catholic Schools, and Commission scolaire francophone, Territories du Nord Ouest - the French school board, which also represents a school in Hay River.

"The intent right now is we're going to look at appointed boards initially. There's been no final determination made on that particular question yet," said Miltenberger, who added that a decision is expected by April.

Yk 1 board of trustees chair Duff Spence told Yellowknifer the status quo seems to work.

"Our board has been around for 70 years and the people of Yellowknife are happy. I'm still very unclear in terms of what problem he is trying to fix," Spence said.

"The minister and the school board really need to get together. There has been no consultation."

Appointing board members as opposed to electing them will change the entire dynamic and focus of the board, according to Spence.

"Right now we are responsible and accountable to the people of Yellowknife," he said. "My concern is with an appointed board you are responsible to the minister and I think the success of our children would be degraded in that environment."

When asked about appointing board members rather than electing them, Catholic school board chair Mary Vane had no comment.

Health and housing boards in the city are currently appointed while education boards are filled by elected members.

Miltenberger said the idea of merging boards has been around many years and it's only become an issue now that the picture is becoming clearer.

"We gave (boards) a number of signals that we were planning to move on some significant changes in terms of amalgamating boards that went unnoticed and uncommented on by just about everybody," he said. "We've talked and consulted about this so now we're going to move to implement this and engage these folks."

Spence believes otherwise.

"The minister has not directly consulted any boards and discussions he has had at the legislature (have) not been communicated directly or formally to Yk 1," he said. "I have not directly talked to the minister nor directly received any communication from him."

Yellowknifer attempted to contact Yellowknife cabinet members Sandy Lee and Bob McLeod about the merging boards but was told by communications co-ordinator Julia Mott that Miltenberger is the sole speaker on this issue and other ministers wouldn't be available for comment.