Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday I spoke about the state of the playgrounds in Fort Simpson over the summer months. I just want to ask the Minister of Education some follow-up questions with regard to that.
When the janitorial staff got a similar deal to that of teachers where they got the summer months off, what plan was in place to maintain the school yards and facilities during the summer months?
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Part of the plan is that the local school board, the school is responsible for the maintenance of the playground, in partnership with PWS. So we do provide funding, the general pot of funding to the school boards, and they’re distributed to the teaching staff and janitorial custodial work. Part of the custodial work is also some of the contract agreement they have, is cleaning out the school in the summer, in preparation for summer, and also upon their return they go through the school system and do an overall cleaning as well. That is part of the contract we have with the schools.
In the case of Fort Simpson, at the start of the school year that certainly didn’t appear to be the case. I was just wondering, I did contact the Minister’s office as well as the Minister of Public Works on it and I’d just like to know what exactly happened. Have they reviewed what occurred during the summer? Will they come up with a good plan for next summer?
When the request came in from MLA Menicoche on concerns of the playground, we expeditiously followed up with PWS and had resources, staff members go into the community and clean up that area, along with the assistance of the school as well. There has been community contribution, as well, from the parents, which was greatly valued. At the same time, this issue that came up before, the community can play an important role in preventing vandalism and also littering issues in the community. We are working with PWS and my department with the schools to put up some cameras and fencing along that area. Those are in the works, and the camera I think is slated to go in and be completed by the end of October. That’s the goal we are working on.
I, too, commend the parents’ groups for the work that’s been done. Next coming summer, what exactly would be the plan in place? I know that Public Works and Services have a lot of priorities during the summer months as well. Is there any provision with the education boards or ministerial office for part-time summer work for somebody to maintain those grounds?
We have across 33 community schools in all communities that deal with these particular issues. It is the principal in the schools and administration team that does that type of work through the custodial work. At the same time, I would encourage the MLA to also meet with the local school board to see what kind of planning is in place. They are fully aware of what’s happening here and there are plans in place for fencing and cameras for next year as well. We are doing what we can as the Department of Education along with Public Works. At the same time, the community plays an important role as well.
I again encourage the Member to meet with the local school board and find out the planning process from them.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I certainly have been working with the school boards as we progress with some type of plan for the school grounds.
Once again, is there any provision for extra funding or resources to help maintain the school grounds during the summer months?
That provision would fall under the local school board and the divisional education council. We provide funding to them and they disperse the funding through their priorities. The decision lies with the local school board. If they feel there should be a need for a half-time or full-time position over the summer, it’s at their discretion to allow that to happen. We’ll continue to work with the school boards.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
