Lisa Scott
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Apr 14/04) - Yellowknife Public schools will have fewer teachers, but full days of kindergarten next year.

At a special district meeting last week, David Lovell acted on behalf of absent chairperson Reanna Erasmus as the board approved a motion to hire 128.5 staff members next year.

"It allows them to start staffing now," said Lovell.

The spring is when most school staff - including program support teachers, principals and assistant principals - find positions for the fall, said Lovell.

Staff levels are down from last year's 136.5 teachers due to lower enrolment. The GNWT funded for 2,151 students for 2003/2004. This year, that number dropped to 2,080.5 students. Funding for the district is calculated based on that enrolment.

The district added 1.5 staff positions more than its government funding allowed, but superintendent Judith Knapp said they will compensate for that in other ways.

"It comes from another area of the budget," she said.

Full-day kindergarten was also on the agenda for the special meeting. Trustees voted in favour of increasing programming to full days at each of the district's four elementary schools. As of September, parents can choose half or full days.

"Parents are asking if we have full-day programs and we have to have that," said Lovell.

Full days will become an option at Mildred Hall and Range Lake North schools. J.H. Sissons and N.J. Macpherson schools already have full-day programming.

"Kids who have gone to (full-day) kindergarten have much better socialization and do better in Grade 1," said Lovell, citing that as another reason to increase the program.

"If we don't offer full day, maybe they won't enroll in our school system," he said.