Yk1 parents open to school transfer
Survey asks if parents would support cutting facility loose if it would save district money
Candace Thomson
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, May 28, 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A survey from the city's largest school district asking parents if they would agree with giving up a school to the territorial government has come with a majority saying "yes."
Out of 335 responses received on the question, nearly 58 per cent said they would support it. The question was part of a larger survey on school facilities from Yellowknife Education District No. 1 made public Wednesday.
Yk1's facilities committee has been tasked with the job of determining the future of the district's facilities and programs. Several Yk1 schools have reported low enrolment in recent years. William McDonald Middle School, with a capacity for 480 students but only 150 students in attendance, has the lowest enrolment rate in the city at 31 per cent.
Last fall, the territorial government proposed Yk1 transfer the school to the GNWT so it could be given to the territory's French school district, Commission scolaire francophone des Territoires du Nord-Ouest.
The government hopes a transfer would fulfill an NWT Supreme Court ruling requiring the GNWT to provide the French school district with $28 million in facility upgrades, which are to include gymnasiums, science labs and cafeterias, in its two schools in Yellowknife and Hay River.
"We were very pleased with the response," said Heather Clarke, chair of the facilities committee.
"It was very clear from the number of responses, as well as from the detailed comments that we received, that parents, guardians and stakeholders have great interest in the issues and challenges facing the district."
The survey asked 10 questions, three of which focused on the possibility of transferring a school to the territorial government.
The first question asked if parents would support "eliminating" a school if it resulted in cost savings for the district of one to three per cent.
Out of 335 responses received, nearly 58 per cent of parents said they would support it.
But with the second question, asking parents if they would support the transfer if it resulted in the elimination or significant change to school programs, 70 per cent of 330 respondents said no.
The third question asked if they would support the transfer if it meant a change in grade configuration at some of the schools.
Out of 330 responses, 70 per cent said they would support the transfer. William McDonald is the city's only middle school, serving grades 6 to 8.
Along with yes or no replies to the three aforementioned questions, parents were allowed to provide comments. A few of those comments were submitted anonymously along with the report on the survey. Some of them included statements such as, "Empty school space and poorly utilized space is not needed. Each school is valuable to the community and students it serves," and "programming is more important than grade configurations."
The other seven questions revolved around the district's delivery of programs, grade configuration in Yk1 schools and also asked for general feedback on how the district was doing.
"We were tremendously impressed by the amount of thought put into many of the responses," said Clarke.
"The information we received is not only valuable to the facilities committee's current work - it will also be of use to the board and district administrators well into the future."
The facilities committee will hold a public engagement with parents, guardians and staff at Sir John Franklin High School at 7 p.m. tonight, with a repeat meeting tomorrow at the same time and place.
