Yk1 intends to keep Sissons open
Results of now-public cost estimates, public consultation mean trustees will vote on a motion to maintain ownership of all five schools
Elaine Anselmi
Northern News Services
Published Friday, November 21, 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The majority of Yellowknife Education District No. 1 (Yk1) school board trustees have suggested they will vote in favour of keeping J.H. Sissons open, to the tune of about $150,000, after months of uncertainty.
The motion will be put to a vote on Dec. 9, when trustees will consider information gathered through public consultation and cost estimates of changes to facility operations, chair John Stephenson said at the Nov. 18 board meeting.
"The board intends to bring forward a motion on Dec. 9 to confirm its Feb. 11, 2014 motion to operate its five schools and existing grade configurations," said Stephenson.
"That is our intention, to operate all five schools."
A Yk1 facilities committee was struck earlier this year after the GNWT received a court order to provide renovations to the French school board's Yellowknife school. The territorial government then turned to Yk1, which has a low overall capacity, and the facilities committee created a report that resulted in four options for the future of the division's facilities. The options centered around whether or not to keep J.H. Sissons open.
The aging school is due for renovations - a reason the French school board expressed disinterest in taking over the facility for its own use.
Should the board vote in favour of keeping the five schools and maintaining the current programming on Dec. 9, Yk1 is looking at an additional $150,000 maintenance cost for J.H. Sissons.
Board trustee Mira Hall, who intends to vote in favour of the motion, said giving up the school is not an easy fix to free up cash. In order for J.H. Sissons students to be relocated, she said there would be a cost attached to expanding those facilities and appropriating them for the younger students.
In one scenario that looks at closing J.H. Sissons and renovating all other schools to accommodate junior kindergarten to grade eight students, the net cost to the district would be more than $4.8 million.
The less costly option, also considering the closure of J.H. Sissons, would require reconfiguration of programming at the remaining four schools. This option would still carry a price tag of more than $70,000, and see Mildred Hall School offer both French and English programming.
Following public consultation, board members indicated that seeing major changes to programming within schools was not preferable.
"It makes the most sense to continue owning and operating all schools, in the meantime, until we can figure out costing and whether or not the government will pay. If they don't have money to renovate J.H. Sissons, they don't have money to add space to N.J. Macpherson or restructure Ecole William McDonald Middle School," said Hall.
As long as Yk1 sits at 64 per cent capacity, Hall said the government has indicated school renovations for the public district would not be a priority in its capital budget.
Though the closure of a school would see capacity increase to more than 80 per cent, trustee Allan Shortt, who also intends to vote in favour of the motion, said the Department of Education, Culture and Employment's (ECE) projections suggest that increase could be too high to make the closure reasonable.
"If we did fill up to 81 per cent, we would have to increase class sizes because we wouldn't have enough classrooms," said Shortt. "In my mind, once I received the ECE statement projections ... what they're perceiving our enrolment to be, we need all of that space."
Costs attached to Yk1's options for the future of its facilities
Option one: (Five school scenario) Status quo: all five schools remain the same; no changes to programming.
Net cost: $150,000
Option two: (Five school scenario) Range Lake grades six to eight transferred to William McDonald Middle School; Mildred Hall operated as junior kindergarten to Grade 8; J.H. Sissons stays open.
Net savings: $124,000
Option three: (Four school scenario) J.H. Sissons closed; William McDonald operates as a junior kindergarten to Grade 8 French immersion school.
Net cost: $4.82 million
Option four: (Four school scenario) J.H. Sissons closed; Mildred Hall operates as a junior kindergarten to Grade 5 dual track school with French immersion and English; All grades six, seven and eight students from Range Lake, N.J. Macpherson and Mildred Hall go to William McDonald.
Net cost: $70,131
- Source: Yellowknife Education District No. 1
From the YK1 trustees
How do you plan to vote on the Dec. 9 motion to keep the status quo?
John Stephenson, Chairperson
Could not be reached for comment.
Heather Clarke, Vice-chair
Could not be reached for comment.
Terry Brookes, Trustee:
WOULD NOT CONFIRM
Noted that at the Range Lake North PAC meeting there was 100 per cent support for keeping the status quo: "I pretty well have my mind made up, we are elected as a representative democracy."
Mira Hall, Trustee:
IN FAVOUR
In favour: "We listened to the public and they basically gave us marching orders. As far as I'm concerned, that's what we follow."
Blake Lyons, Trustee:
IN FAVOUR
"We listened to the public and they basically gave us marching orders. As far as I'm concerned, that's what we follow."
Jay Butler, Trustee
Could not be reached for comment.
Allan Shortt, Trustee:
IN FAVOUR
"As trustees, we have to make sure our decisions are based on what is best for stakeholders and students."
