SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
One new Catholic district trustee says he has been much busier than he expected since winning his seat last fall. Trustee Revi Lau-a said sitting on the Yellowknife Catholic School (YCS) board has required more of his time and effort than he ever expected, as he's been attending days of training sessions to help get comprehend the district's highly detailed policies.

The FV Saputi lists hard to its port side after an iceberg blew a hole in its cargo hull. The boat managed to limp to port in Nuuk, Greenland, thanks to co-ordinated efforts by rescue teams. - photo courtesy of Joint Task Force Atlantic

"I've got to admit, it's been quite a bit more work than I had expected but I do recognize that as the sacred trust that it is," said Lau-a. "I've certainly enjoyed it. It's been a lot of hours, a lot of work, but I take the responsibility very seriously."

Lau-a - who works a day job with the policy and strategic planning section for the NWT Housing Corporation - has two children attending the city's Catholic schools and a toddler.

"I've tried to put as much effort as I can in, in order to ensure my children who are in the system are getting the best quality education that they can get," he said.

On the evening of Feb. 17, Lau-a and other trustees heard a presentation from three staff members from the Department of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE) who are travelling the territory explaining a piece of reading material the department is designing to help new trustees across the territory understand their new jobs.

Joanne McGrath, co-ordinator of education operations and development, Andrea Giesbrecht, ECE's assistant director of early childhood and school services, and Debra Simpson, manager of adult and post-secondary education have already visited Ndilo and Fort Simpson to present the draft handbook, said Giesbrecht, and were answering an invitation to present on the conflict-resolution section for the benefit of Catholic trustees, Wednesday evening.

YCS superintendent Claudia Parker said trustees had already sat through training sessions on the sections talking about legislative authority, roles and responsibilities, governance and more but weren't briefed on the section pertaining to conflict resolution.

Giesbrecht delivered a 30-minute synopsis of the chapter, touching on positive and negative behaviours relates to conflicts between members. Giesbrecht said the booklet is designed to be an easy read.

"Here in the NWT we have many different walks of life, different education levels and many of the people are stepping up to be elected members," she said.

"We've heard stories about people who get elected and then it's 'welcome to the board', thunk, 'here's your staff binders.' We don't want it to be that intimidating."

McGrath said she's heard stories from newly elected trustees frustrated by the realities of their new positions.

"I did get a phone call once from a lady who was a little frustrated because there were three people on the board and the other two people were married, so she had a lot of trouble getting her ideas accepted by the others," she said.

Lau-a said he thinks the handbook is a good resource for new trustees in communities, but is of less value to YCS trustees, who attend lengthy training sessions shortly after election.

"We certainly weren't wanting for that level of support at the Yellowknife Catholic Schools board level, but I do recognize that this is a valuable resource," said Lau-a.

Responding by e-mail, Jacqueline McKinnon, spokesperson for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, stated the department took one year to create the handbook, and made it available in electronic form for superintendents and district trustees to view it in December.

Orientation sessions have been scheduled with 10 education authorities across the territory, and the final version will be published before school starts in September, she stated.