Jennifer McPhee
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Sept 03/01) - The Beaufort-Delta board faced the daunting task of replacing 52 per cent of its teaching staff this year.

And it accomplished a minor miracle by filling all but three positions.

Chief Julius School in Fort McPherson -- a school of less than 200 students -- still needs two teachers at the junior high level.

Moose Kerr School in Aklavick needs one more. And when Angik School in Paulatuuq opened in August, it was short three teachers. The board filled Angik's last position this week.

Mangilaluk School in Tuktoyaktuk postponed its start date from Aug. 31 to Sept. 4 because of renovations, which gave the school time to fill three vacant spots.

The teachers have been hired and are scheduled to arrive next week.

Aside from a single vacant spot at Sir John Franklin High School in Yellowknife, every other school in the NWT has filled its teaching positions.

According to Janet Leader, a spokesperson for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, the turnover rate in Yellowknife has been consistently quite low--about nine per cent--for the past four years.

The average territorial turnover rate this year was 21.5 per cent.

So teachers aren't exactly flocking to Beaufort-Delta. How come?

Lynne Isenor, human resources officer at the Beaufort-Delta Divisional education council, suggests looking at a map to discover the answer. "Take a look at where we're at," she said. "We're a fly-in community at the edge of the sea."

But Isenor also said the problem stems from a severe housing shortage. "Paulatuuq didn't have any housing," she said. "And its pretty difficult to ask teachers to come here, when there's no where for them to live."