Yellowknife No. 1 hopes public accepts program cuts over layoffs
Mike W. Bryant
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Jun 01/01) - Yellowknife public school trustees and administration opened their budget debate to a less boisterous room than the last time around, but they still took some heat.
The board presented their second draft budget in as many months to a half-empty gymnasium at William McDonald school Tuesday night.
| Capital projects to take hit
The district is now projecting an accumulated deficit of $718,831 for the 2001/2002 school year, significant lower than the $1.2 million outlined in the last budget presentation in April. An additional $309,000 in funding was allotted by the Department of Education, Culture and Employment two weeks ago, but even with the added revenue the district still faces a cash crunch. The areas hardest hit in the operating budget will be capital projects and school programs. Capital projects, such as the ongoing renovations to Sir John Franklin high school, will have its expenditures slashed to $265,000 from $1.1 million two years ago. School trips outside the NWT and participation with the Alberta Assessment Consortium have been put on hold. School programs will be operating with a budget of $14 million -- $1.1 million less than in 1999/2000. Schofield places much of the blame for the accumulated deficit on previous school board decisions to maintain lower pupil to teacher rates than what the GNWT funds them for. The district currently operates at 16.18:1 students to teachers and are funded at 17.47:1 by the GNWT. |
The new draft calls for two teaching positions to be cut at Sir John Franklin high school and another three full-time and one half-time education assistant positions to be eliminated.
Though most were pleased by the board's decision to focus cuts on capital projects instead of teaching positions, many felt the new draft budget could have gone further to keep jobs at the schools.
The previous draft called for 17 teaching positions to be cut.
"It's a step in the right direction," said David Murphy, president of NWT Teachers' Association.
"Our association will be comparing the first draft to the second draft. I still believe the board can find a way to operate without reducing staff and school programs."
Board of trustees chair Dan Schofield told the audience that the finance committee and administration did the best they could to keep jobs and school programs off the chopping block, but a lack of manoeuvring room forced them to make some cuts.
"You have our document, you have our information .... You may not like some of the decisions we have made, but these are some of things we have to deal with," Schofield said.
"We'd like to promise you that no cuts will ever happen, but we can't."
For the most part, the crowd gathered at the public forum appeared largely resigned to the spending cuts, but one parent in attendance felt cuts could have gone elsewhere.
"Do you really need an assistant superintendent?" demanded Karen Willy to superintendent Dr. Judith Knapp.
To which Knapp shot back, "My husband and staff could tell you we need one."
"I believe we need to cut that position," Willy retorted to claps and cheers from the audience. The board is scheduled to approve the budget Tuesday, June 12.
