YELLOWKNIFE - Yk 1 parents grilled board members on the conditions for Yellowknife Catholic School students during an information session at J.H Sissons school May 8.

At a meeting May 8 at J.H. Sissons school Metro Huculak, superintendent for Yellowknife Education District No. 1 challenged the Department of Education, Culture, and Employment's utilization rates, saying the schools could lose specialty programs if they tried to bring their numbers up to capacity. - Christine Grimard/NNSL photo

Metro Huculak, superintendent of Education for Yk 1, started the session by challenging the department of Education, Culture, and Employment's methods for measuring capacity.Flashing slides of school blueprints, Huculak argued that ECE should not consider specialty classrooms in their utilization, as they need them for specialty programs.

"We could have the classrooms, but we would have no computer room, no science room, no music room," Huculak told the approximately 50 people who attended the meeting. "All specialty programs would go out the window."

ECE has put the majority of Yk 1 schools at around 60 percent utilization, while Yellowknife Catholic Schools averages almost 100 percent utilization.

One parent asked if ECE used the same methods to calculate YCS's capacity, to which Huculak answered yes. He said Yk 1 could accommodate more students without losing specialty programs by increasing class sizes.

Allan Shortt, whose daughter is enrolled in a class of 10 students taking intensive French at William McDonald school, said this could mean an end to his daughter's program.

Parents asked board members about the conditions of St. Joseph students currently housed at N.J. Macpherson school.

During an information session May 3 held by ECE Minister Charles Dent, parents of YCS students talked of second-rate conditions for their children at the Yk 1 school.

"I came away from that meeting thinking we had screwed up somehow," said Craig Nicholson who has one child attending J.H. Sissons.

Huculak said that was the first time he had heard complaints on the conditions of YCS students at St. Joseph school.

"I was sitting in the front row, and I couldn't believe what I was hearing," said Huculak.

Huculak said that despite what was said at the meeting, St. Joseph students do have access to the computer lab, the PA system, and the playground. They do not use the library because N.J. Macpherson has no French books to accommodate St. Joseph's French immersion students.

Nicole Loubert, who has one student enrolled at St. Joseph school and attending classes at N.J. Macpherson, said that her daughter actually has more gym time now than when she was at St. Joseph.

Huculak said the two school boards continue to meet to try and improve the conditions for next year.