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Superintendent Claudia Parker, left, assistant superintendent Mike Huvenaars, and assistant superintendent John Bowden discuss how funding cuts from the GNWT made planning 2014-15 school year budget difficult.

Catholic board lashes out at GNWT
Anger and disappointment from trustees as bad-news budget approved

Candace Thomson
Northern News Services
Published Monday, May 26, 2014

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Trustees with the Yellowknife Catholic school board approved a $25.4 million budget Wednesday, but not without a few choice words directed at the territorial government.

Their ire was directed at the $439,679 cut the GNWT has imposed this year on the school district to help pay for a new junior kindergarten program being rolled out across the territory, but in smaller communities first.

"When we look at this budget, we know that junior kindergarten is not 'free,'" said Miles Welsh, vice-chair of Yellowknife Catholic Schools.

"The GNWT is undergoing a lot of initiatives, and I support them but I support doing them right, not on the backs of the students."

"We're going to fight this ... until they wake up"

The $434,679 cut is part of the government's plan to fund the $7.2 million junior kindergarten initiative "from the inside" over the next three years, taking money from the surpluses of Yellowknife schools.

In order to handle the cuts, the district had to lay off seven teachers and one support staff.

"I am voting to approve this budget because I want to support our staff and administration, but that in no way means I support what the GNWT is doing with cutting our funding," said trustee John Dalton.

"We're going to fight this ... until they wake up and realize they're jeopardizing education for our kids. We're in a fight for the next umpteen years."

Despite cuts from the GNWT and further cuts due to the cessation of federal funding for the Do Edaezhe on-the-land education program for students at risk of not graduating, district officials say they did their best to not allow the financial situation to have an effect on students. Of the $25.4 million in expenditures in the 2014-2015 budget5, 59 per cent of the money will go to student programs (which includes teacher salaries and benefits), 23 per cent to student support services, and the rest to maintenance, administration and other costs.

"Every budget is an indication of priorities," said school board chair Simon Taylor. "In this budget the attempt has been to minimize destruction in the classrooms."

Next year the school district will lose an additional $264,000. In year three, junior kindergarten will be rolled out in Yellowknife, which will mean a $484,000 refund to the district, leaving the board with $214,000 less from the GNWT in 2016/17 than it received in 2013/14.

"The funding we'll receive back will be like a drop in a bucket," said trustee Erin Currie. "I find this disappointing and discouraging, I don't know how we're going to keep our heads out of the water."

  • with files from Laura Busch

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