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PANNIQTUUQ/PANGNIRTUNG
Students at Attagoyuk High School in Pangnirtung are making space for the community's elementary school students after a fuel oil spill Sept. 20.

Alookie students have lost 12.5 days of school due to the spill, including five days in October after hydrocarbon odours were detected again Oct. 20.

"It's pretty much using up the buffer" set aside for expected cancellations, such as blizzards, said Paul Mooney, Qikiqtani School Operations superintendent of schools. "That's why it's important that the kids get back to school."

The initial spill was cleaned quickly, Mooney said, and it appeared the problem was solved. When the odour returned, however, the district education authority and the Department of Health and Social Services decided to close the school again while tests were performed. Samples were sent to labs in southern Canada, with no timeline given as to when results may return.

In the meantime, school board authorities set in place a plan to get Alookie students back in the classroom. Starting Oct. 28, they are sharing space at the high school until their school is considered safe again.

"By having all of the kids here (at the high school), the schedules are changed for everybody," Mooney said. "We've split the school into two groups. The Alookie students will come in the morning from 8 a.m. to lunch time, and the high school students come from 1 to 5 p.m."

This means, in addition to the days lost, all students will now lose learning hours each day until the problem is resolved.

"The bottom line is we have to have school for Alookie students. It's not an option to wait. It could be three weeks, and every day we lose, we can't afford it. We have to get back to a schedule for the elementary students, and that will begin Monday with their Halloween activities and Tuesday with their regular schedule."

Alternative accommodation ideas, such as using existing space in the community, were deemed insufficient. The old health centre could house three classes, and a portable classroom could house another, but 10 classrooms are needed to house Alookie's population. The high school was the only option, he said, with lost hours for all 360 students being the trade-off.

The Department of Community and Government Services is performing the cleanup and the money required comes out of its budget. There is no timeline for how long the cleanup could take.

"We don't know if there's work that needs to be done, any remediation that could be done at this point," Mooney said. "We have to wait and see like everyone else."

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