Northern News Services

NNSL (May 17/99) - It is proposed that the part of the education budget that is allotted to the school boards this year be $80,000.

Discussion of the education budget in the Legislature was a point of contention over the last two weeks.

The total of the proposed budget for education is $170 million. That figure includes funding for other programs such as colleges and adult education. Last year it was $270 million. That was before Nunavut was a separate entity.

The 1996 NWT census showed the population of the NWT was 64,125 and the population of Nunavut was 13,180.

The number of students coming to the North is up from last year by .8 per cent.

This increase has been accounted for in the proposed budget, but spending on additional programs and spending per student has not been increased.

According to Barbara Hall, the co-ordinator of student support for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, students have diversified over the past few years and this diversification has increased their needs.

"That's the name of the game (dealing with different needs) for teachers today," said Hall.

"It's not easy -- but maybe more rewarding," Hall added, explaining that there is a greater feeling of accomplishment when difficulties are overcome.

Hall does feel that perhaps that lack of an increase in education funding could be detrimental to the education system.

There is extra money allotted for the increase in students, but the money does not cover the cost of the challenges the diversification is bringing about.

Also, according to Hall the number of people living below the poverty line in the North is ever increasing and this may be adding to the problems.

Teachers and other students often choose to have breakfasts or snacks for those who are not getting what they need at home. Although they are often funded by different pots of money set up for those situations it is still time- consuming and can be frustrating.

Although the pupil teacher ratio is 18.5 to 1 in the NWT, parents, teachers and students seem to be crying out for more funding to bring the ratio down.

According to a survey done in Alberta, where the pupil teacher ratio is 18.7 to 1, 78.3 per cent of those surveyed agree that "class sizes in public schools are so large teachers cannot spend enough time with every child."

Pat Thompson, president of the NWT Teachers Association, thinks that if the survey were to be done in the NWT the results would be about the same.

"It's pretty well a trend here," said Thomas.