Enterprise seeks its own school
Another meeting set with representatives of GNWT
Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Saturday, February 25, 2017
HAY RIVER
Enterprise's dream of having its own school is taking the initial steps toward possibly becoming a reality.
Winnie Cadieux: Enterprise wants to move forward with the idea for its own school. - NNSL file photo
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On Feb. 27, a public meeting will be held in the hamlet - 38 kilometres south of Hay River - to discuss the idea with representatives of the Department of Education, Culture and Employment.
It will be the second public meeting with Rita Mueller, the assistant deputy minister of Education, Culture and Employment, following up on the first about a year ago.
"This is our second meeting with her because we want to move forward with it," said Winnie Cadieux, one of the proponents behind the idea, who noted the first meeting involved general information on things such as schools with more than one grade to a classroom, which would be the case in Enterprise.
"Now we would like to go to the next stage," she said.
That would include learning about the process of forming a district education authority (DEA) in Enterprise and considering where a school could be located in the community.
The proponents of the idea have not yet created any formal committee to pursue a school in the community.
The idea has been circulating in Enterprise for years.
Cadieux, a businessperson and member of the hamlet council, noted the number of children in the community has been increasing for four or five years.
"So right now we have a large number of children between the ages of zero and 10," she said. "If we move quickly, then a lot of those kids who are just around two or three years old would be able to start school in Enterprise."
At present, there has been no decision on what type of school the community wants, although most of the discussion over the years has been for a school for the lower grades.
"But we really don't know," said Cadieux. "I guess when we go to form that DEA the people here that want that school will have to decide. It's been suggested K-4, K-7, K-12. So we will have to decide that."
Currently, 14 schoolchildren are bused to Hay River in a vehicle owned by the hamlet, and that drive has always been one of the concerns for some parents.
"It's a very long day," said Cadieux. "Our children are on the bus 7:30 in the morning and don't get home 'til 4 or 4:30 in the evening."
She noted that, based on numbers from January of last year, there are about 24 children in Enterprise, including 14 aged six years and under, and two more community residents are expecting.
Cadieux noted the Feb. 27 meeting will discuss a possible location for a school, such as the existing hamlet office which could be renovated to avoid the full capital funding of a brand-new school.
The GNWT's Mueller is looking forward to the upcoming meeting, noting there was a good turnout of over 30 people for the first meeting.
"I would anticipate the same thing this year," she said.
Mueller noted Enterprise is the only community in the NWT without its own school.
"The population in Enterprise has been growing over the years, and they realized, 'Hey, we're in a position now where we might be able to advocate for a school because we've kind of reached a population where we might be able to qualify,'" she said.
According to the 2016 census, Enterprise has a population of 106 people.
Mueller said she will provide information on the process for a community to apply to form its own DEA and the process for GNWT capital projects.
And she hopes to learn more about what the community has in mind for a school, including what grades it would like to see.
"I hope to get more clarity about that," she said.
Mueller noted a new school is not something that would happen overnight, since there is a lot of planning involved.
The Feb. 27 meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at the community hall.
