Lisa Scott
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Apr 09/04) - It's hard to tell a group of young students that they can't go snowmobiling on Prelude Lake because their risk assessment forms were denied -- but that's what two teachers had to do on Monday.

J.H. Sisson's school teacher Kelly McLeod says her fourth annual Prelude snowmobile trip won't be happening April 8, after failing to receive approval from the district's insurance carrier.

Since switching from a local insurer to the Alberta School Board Insurance Exchange (ASBIE) in the summer of 2003, Yellowknife 1 field trips have become trickier to organize.

The risk assessment forms school staff must complete when they request to take kids on trips have more than doubled in size since the district policy was revamped in February.

For high risk trips like outdoor camping, a six page risk assessment form must be submitted to the superintendent for approval, who then sends it to ASBIE. Parental consent forms are also required.

The form used to be two pages long.

Glen Burns, director of corporate services for Yellowknife 1, wouldn't comment on the cancelled Sisson's trip, but did say that it's all in the interest of student safety.

"It's (the procedure) a little more in depth and more proactive," he said this week.

"The main reason is for the students," said Burns, who joined the district in December 2003.

Both Burns and superintendent Judith Knapp are happy with the new coverage, also used by Yellowknife Catholic Schools.

"They have more experience with field trips so they are bringing it to our attention that this is an area that needs attention," said Burns.

Burns referred to the 2003 avalanche deaths of seven Calgary students while on a field trip as one reason why insurance carriers are demanding more information.

Sisson's staff were asked for details such as ice thickness and spring thaw information that McLeod says were impossible to deliver.

"There were too many stipulations," she says. "It's very disappointing because the kids come into this class knowing they get to do this trip," says the teacher.

Principal Paul Bennett says the new procedures amount to more paperwork for staff, procedures that they will need to learn.

"We have to go through a few more hoops to make sure nothing happens," he said.

Wake-up call

"It's a wake-up call to a lot of us for some of the scares of society," said Bennett.

ASBIE will be in Yellowknife, April 15, to offer a workshop for both districts on some of the new stipulations.

Until then, Sisson's students looking forward to a spring trip out on the ice will have to see if the risks are worth the trip next year.