The quality of education provided by the public school board is equal to any in the country, if not better than most.

So why is enrolment in the district dropping while increasing in the Catholic school district?

In the absence of hordes of Catholics coming up the highway, the only real difference lies in the two school boards.

The Catholic school board has had strong superintendents and solid boards. The public school board has had boards and superintendents who have fought each other and parents in public and private.

The present Yk 1 board started off badly soon after the election, coming up with a plan to increase the focus on French education by making J. H. Sissons an all French school.

The intent of the plan was good, but too much was done behind closed doors and it all came as a nasty surprise to English school staff and parents. The poor public process overshadowed the worthy goals of the board.

More recently, when parents wanted to know how the district did on the Alberta Achievement Tests, the board initially refused to make the figures public, even though the Catholic board made its figures public last fall (See page 1, News/North, April 10). It said Education Minister Charles Dent asked it not to release the figures.

Dent has already released the territorial figures and it's easy to guess why he doesn't want the public school district to release its figures. We expect the Yk 1 results are as high as the Catholic board.

Pull the Yellowknife results from the territorial results and the figures will show the awful truth of what's happening in schools in Dene communities.

So the public board chose the minister's political problem over the wishes of parents. That was a mistake.

The public board faces a $672,255 deficit next year as it attempts to hold on to staff and increase enrolment. The past three years, enrolment dropped by 200 - 94 this year alone. For every empty desk, the district loses more funding.

The declining student numbers put the public school board at a psychological disadvantage in the search for a solution to overcrowding in the Catholic system.

Understanding that, the public board must remember one thing: The public perception that Yk 1 is not as good a school district as the Catholic district is wrong and will change over time if the board remembers the most important thing - They are there to listen to parents and do their bidding.

If parents are satisfied, there will be no controversy, no rhetoric. The board must have the support of parents to get through the difficult decisions ahead on how to best accommodate the needs of students in both districts.

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News

It came as no surprise to see Nunavut Liberal MP Nancy Karetak-Lindell going through a period of frustration as she adapted to being a member of the Opposition party.

It also came as no surprise to see the Tories didn't exactly have the North at the top of the priority list for the recent speech from the throne.

There was no guarantee on the future of the Kelowna Accord, and the uncertainty now surrounding the package for Northern development is a cause for concern.

We have said in this space before that there are no guarantees Stephen Harper's government will be overly friendly to the North, and that's especially true for Nunavut.

We'll have to wait and see just how high a priority Nunavut turns out to be for the Conservatives, but we certainly didn't set any promise records coming out of the gate.

Even with all the talk from our military during the past year of increasing its presence in the North, there were no promises of such.

The fact Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Jim Prentice didn't seem to be in any hurry to meet with Lindell after the January election also sets off alarm bells.

We're not impressed with what our lone Inuit MP has had to go through to have a chat with Prentice, despite his oh-so-hectic schedule since being appointed.

Memo to Prentice: Sooner or later you're going to have to meet us and we're not going anywhere.

Nunavut's political spotlight is going to be shining brightly on Karetak-Lindell during the next six months.

Despite her envious track record of election wins, there are still many who claim she is not vocal enough in lobbying for Nunavut's needs.

Take away the fact she no longer has the prime minister's ear in private party meetings, and Karetak-Lindell will have to show more of her aggressive side to win concessions from the federal government for Nunavut.

While federal politics is an animal unto itself, Karetak-Lindell is going to need solid support from the territorial government and national Inuit leaders.

It is even more imperative this time around for Karetak-Lindell, Premier Paul Okalik and highly visible and respected national personalities such as Jose Kusugak to be on the same page in pressuring the feds to meet our needs.

This is our third prime minister since the creation of Nunavut and the first era in which the party that oversaw much of the Land Claims Agreement is no longer in power.

We need Inuit leaders to be vocal and visible on the national stage to keep Nunavut from slipping out of sight and out of mind to most Canadians.

Our leaders take every opportunity to trumpet the inclusion of Inuit Qaujiniajatuqangit into many of Nunavut's programs.

This is the time for these same leaders to draw from traditional knowledge in compelling the new federal government into understanding our needs and working with us to reach our goals.

What we've learned from the past just may be our best ally in our attempts to move forward.

Editorial Comment
Dez Loreen
Inuvik Drum

After 49 years, the Muskrat Jamboree seems to get better and better each year.

Granted I have only been around for the last 23 years, and can only recollect the past dozen or so.

I want to start off by congratulating the jamboree committee for hosting a fun-filled weekend of games, entertainment and laughs.

Once again, Roy Ipana and Gerry Kisoun kept the crowd involved with activities on the ice.

It's always good to hear those two go off on the microphone, because you're sure to chuckle out loud at least once.

The best advice I heard all weekend was from Roy during the harpoon-tossing competition on Sunday afternoon.

"You have to really toss the harpoon. No fruity throws," he said, as the crowd burst out in laughter.

I think it's true, because when you are standing in an 18-foot lund chasing a whale for 40 minutes, you have no time to hesitate. That throw has to count.

I tried to stockpile bags of donuts I bought at the river, but ended up eating them on the way home. I seem to find myself in the same predicament every year at this time.

The spring-time jamborees are a good opportunity to catch up with friends and family from out of town. Nothing beats sharing a donut with a cousin you haven't seen since the ice road opened.

Hopefully we will have good weather for this weekend's festivities in nearby Aklavik and Tuktoyaktuk.

Just a shout out for my family in Tuk to warm up your old skandics, because I have an itch to do some much-missed bombing around on the Tuk harbour.

We are now experiencing longer hours of sunlight, which will prove helpful when those power bills come in.

With an increased fuel rider, some Inuvik residents may find themselves paying more every month for the same usage.

Granted most of the residential units in town are subsidized, so I think the businesses in town will be taking most of the flak.

I think it's about time we all started becoming a little more energy efficient, and I'm going to start by replacing all the light bulbs in my apartment with those coiled energy saving ones. That's a better alternative for me than turning off my Xbox. That has to stay on, or I might lose my game progress.

Sure, the power company has to recover any money that has been lost due to escalating fuel costs, but I'm not sure if an increased rider is the way to go.

Maybe it's time for all of us to move away from technology and settle somewhere up the river with a good book near the campfire.

But if I made that change, I might miss the next episode of Family Guy on Sunday night.

Editorial Comment
Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum

It's that time of the year again when winter road and ice crossing season comes to an end.

The smaller communities in the Deh Cho have already lost their road connections to the outside world, and now it's just a matter of time before the ice crossings also disappear.

Explaining the concept of a bridge of ice to people in the south can be challenging. It's almost as hard as explaining how entire communities can be cut off from road access.

If melting ice bridges disrupt your Easter weekend plans, just remember that this is one of the many things that makes the North unique. If nothing else, it will make for a good story some day if bridges are ever put across the Mackenzie and the Liard Rivers.

Everyone should welcome the new emergency preparedness map for Fort Simpson.

A comprehensive map marking all of the house numbers and locations seems like a logical thing to have.

It's surprising to find out that one didn't exist earlier and emergency personnel ranging from volunteer firefighters to the RCMP had to rely on personal experience or bits of maps.

Of course, in a small community it's easy enough to locate an emergency because there are only so many places to look.

But in the case of a fire or life-threatening situation, everyone knows that every minute counts.

With communities such as Fort Simpson expecting to see increased growth over the next few years, the map will quickly repay the work that went into compiling it.

But if something as logical as a comprehensive map for emergency response has been lacking all this time, it makes you wonder how many other seemingly obvious resources are waiting out there to be created.

It was nice to see Andy Norwegian commended for his 25 years of service in education -- most of them spent helping to ensure the future of South Slavey as a language.

It always feels good to be recognized for your work and 25 years is certainly a long time to stay with any career path.

Even after all this time Norwegian said he still loves what he does and finds the work stimulating. May we all be so lucky.

The trick in life seems to be finding something you like to do that you can incorporate into your job without compromising the reason you liked it in the first place.

This, of course, is often easier said than done.

Most people are not this lucky and use jobs to make a living rather than to further a passion.

If you happen to become one of the lucky ones, make sure you hold onto the position tightly. For those who aren't there yet, never give up the search.

Last week, the Inuvik Drum incorrectly identified a representative for Imperial Oil at the Joint Review Panel. The correct spelling is Rick Luckasavitch. We regret any embarrassment or confusion this may have caused.

In the story "Stray dogs get a helping hand" in the April 6 issue of the Deh Cho Drum, it was reported that Betty Hanson has been taking in stray dogs. Hanson only helps find homes for strays and does not take them in. The Drum apologizes for any confusion this may have caused.

An error appeared in article in last Friday's Yellowknifer, ("Girls v.s. boys," April 7) The program dividing boys and girls into separate classes started in September, 2005. Yellowknifer apologizes for any confusion caused by the error.

An error appeared in an article in Monday's News/North, ("Yk 1 parents demand scores," April 10). Due to incorrect information provided to News/North, reports of a letter being written by parent advisory groups to Yk 1 trustees proved false. News/North apologizes for any embarrassment or confusion caused by the error.