Dane Gibson
Northern News Services

NNSL (Dec 13/99) - Lower student/teacher ratios and more spending on special needs programs are to be the cornerstone of the government's new education strategy.

Education Minister Michael Miltenberger made the announcement at a press conference Thursday, estimating that the government will need to find between $8 and $11 million in new money.

"Overall, I'm very pleased with this plan," said Miltenberger. "It is a critical document to bring to the table at the start of the 14th legislative assembly."

Entitled 'People: Our Focus for the Future,' the plan calls for teacher/student ratios to drop from more than 20 students per teacher to 16 over the next five years.

He also said that while 8.2 per cent of the current education budget goes to teaching special needs students, other education jurisdictions spend almost twice that.

When questioned why we lag so far behind in special needs spending when the NWT has one of the highest rates of special needs students in Canada, Miltenberger admitted that in the past "things haven't been done as perfectly as they could have.

"We haven't been neglecting (special needs students), but clearly the money we spend has to be increased," said Miltenberger.

"We are going to increase our expenditures to 15 per cent (of the total budget). If we want inclusive schooling to work, then we have to increase our spending on special needs."

The plan also calls for increased support for families.

"We as a territory have a vested interest to ensure children are born healthy and raised in a strong family environment," said Miltenberger.

"We are going to work with other territorial departments on this critical topic. Certainly, teachers and educators have a strong interest in ensuring they are teaching healthy kids."

Miltenberger admits finding the money won't be easy when the territory's budget, as a whole, is shrinking. He sees the possibility of running a short-term deficit or receiving money from resource revenue sharing initiatives.

"There's a number of options and the new territorial assembly is going to help us to make those decisions," said Miltenberger. "But to do it, it's going to require a lot of thorough, frank decision making."

Teachers sceptical

At the press conference, while Miltenberger talked about the different goals and issues to be tackled over the next five years, NWT Teachers Association president Pat Thomas waited patiently to find out where teachers fit into the vision.

She left without a straight answer.

"It's a fine plan but it doesn't do much to say teachers are valued," said Thomas. "We have a lot of dissatisfaction among our teachers and teachers are the hub of an education system."

She said over the last four years, teachers have "carried the education system on their backs.

"We teach because we're optimists -- we feel we can change things for the better -- and I want this plan to work," said Thomas.

"But I didn't hear anything that made me really hopeful. Nothing is going to change for teachers this school year, which means I can't go to the teachers and tell them this plan is going to help them."