YCS School Board briefs
Jr kindergarten discussed
Elaine Anselmi
Northern News Services
Published Friday, November 28 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
With the GNWT's proposition of mandatory junior kindergarten rolling out, then being put on hold, the board of trustees got a glimpse of the numbers that could be a reality if the program is initiated in 2016.
The board's assistant superintendent, Janet Toner, presented the budget out of which YCS would have to fund the $270,000 per year junior kindergarten program.
Three areas make up the board's accumulated surplus of $44,598,807 as of June 2014, Toner explained. These areas are: $981,347 from the operating fund surplus; $43,233,924 from investment in capital assets (schools and properties owned by the board); and $383,536 from decentralized accumulated surplus (professional development owed to employees under their collective agreement). Due to this, Toner said the actual useable surplus, at year end was $981,347. The surplus, she said, is a sort of rainy day fund for any emergency expenses such as facility repairs. Taking the deficit away from the surplus, superintendent Claudia Parker said, would leave the board with only $281,347.
"What this demonstrates is that if we continue to run a deficit budget and the government is basically saying for junior kindergarten, we can just use our surpluses to pay what we have to pay," said Parker.
"If we continue that way we're going to be having an overall deficit and we're not going to have money to continue
to fund those extra programs."
Incumbents acclaimed
Elections for a new chair and vice-chair of the Catholic School Board of Trustees saw both incumbents acclaimed.
The vote, led by superintendent Claudia Parker, re-elected chair Simon Taylor to the top position, which he enthusiastically accepted. Vice-chair Miles Welsh was also re-elected, but was absent from the meeting, accepting the nomination through a note read by trustee Erin Currie.
Casual for a cause
Causal Friday comes at a cost at Yellowknife Catholic Schools and at the Nov. 19 board meeting, three local charities reaped the benefits.
In order to wear jeans to work every Friday, staff and administration make a weekly donation to the charity of their choice.
Board chair Simon Taylor presented three cheques of varying amounts at the board meeting.
Captain Ian Gillingham of the Salvation Army was presented with a cheque for $3,100.85, Mark Nedem of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul accepted a cheque for $2,784, and Arlene Talbot with the Yellowknife Association for Community Living was given a cheque for $6,137.33.
