French school board not interested in Sissons
GNWT won't say what it will do with school if francophone parents reject it
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Published Friday, October 17, 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The territorial government isn't saying what it would do with J.H. Sissons School should Yk1 decide to hand over the keys but the French school board refuses to take it.
The GNWT asked the school district to identify a school it could hand over to the government in order to satisfy a court ruling ordering the government to provide the French school board with facilities it currently doesn't have in Yellowknife, such as a gymnasium and science lab.
Yellowknife Eduction District No.1's facilities committee recommends closing Sissons, the district's only French immersion school teaching students from kindergarten to Grade 5.
While Yk1 hasn't decided whether it will go that route, the francophone school board has already said it doesn't want Sissons.
"The offer of the oldest school in town that is 40 years old and requires millions of dollars of renovations would not meet our infrastructure needs," said Suzette Montreuil, president of the Commission scolaire francophone des Territoires du Nord-ouest.
Not only does the school already require more than $20 million in renovations, many more dollars would be needed to upgrade it to the French school district's needs, she said.
"We need it to go from kindergarten to Grade 12, so there would be all the renovations to get it up to scale, then there would be all the transformations to make part of it into a high school," said Montreuil. "That amount of work, that was never on the table even when this was being discussed."
The French school district's position raises the question of what happens if Yk1 does vote to hand over Sissons to the GNWT.
"We cannot comment on this issue at this time as are waiting to learn the recommendations from the Yk1 acilities Committee and the final decision of the Yk1 board," wrote Jacqueline McKinnon, spokeswoman for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment in an e-mail on Wednesday.
The final facilities committee report containing eight recommendations, included the one suggesting Sissons be closed, has been publicly available since June. The board is expected to vote Dec. 9 on the report recommendations. John Stephenson, chairperson for the Yk1 board of trustees, said he's aware of the comments by Montreuil regarding Sissons.
"Certainly, the position of the francophone board will be taken into consideration," he said, adding that he believes trustees will vote in the best interests of students.
Stephenson said while there has been a focus on what closing Sissons would mean, the facilities report has an alternative recommendation that would see the school remain open, but with some grade reconfigurations throughout the district.
The NWT Supreme Court ruling that prompted the territorial government to pressure Yk1 to hand over a school - several of which are far below full enrolment - handed down in June 2012.
Justice Louise Charbonneau's ruling ordered the GNWT to add extra space at Ecole Allain St. Cyr, the francophone district's only school in Yellowknife. Charbonneau also order the government to improve facilities at the district's other school in Hay River.
The ruling states Ecole Allain St. Cyr needs a gym, specialized classes for home economics, an art and music room, a science lab, space for students with special needs, staff workspace and a larger playground if the school grounds permit.
The ruling also states the capacity of the school must be expanded to allow for 250 students from 160 students and that the work must be complete by September 2015.
The capacity at Sissons is for 330 students. The GNWT estimated it would cost about $15 million to fulfill the court order in Yellowknife.
Seeking to save money by transferring an existing school, the GNWT turned to Yk1, which has schools operating below capacity.
While the department isn't saying anything now, an April 2014 department document about the school swap situation says "the GNWT is still hoping that the Yk1 board of directors and parents will see that we all need to work together on this. Not because it's the easiest thing to do, but because it's the right thing to do."
The ruling has been appealed by the government, decision for which is expected this fall.
"We'll see what the appeal court says and we'll go from there," Montreuil said.
