Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in follow-up to my Member's statement, I have questions for the Minister responsible for Education, and I am sure she may need assistance from the Infrastructure Minister, because it is between those two departments.
Mr. Speaker, I have heard from the community that Moose Kerr School has been closed due to the building issues more than once this winter. How does the department monitor these kinds of issues, and when does the department step in? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member is right. There have been quite a few schools, actually, this winter that have actually closed, mostly because of cold weather. That, I can't monitor. I mean, we all can look outside. That, I can't have any say over, unfortunately. Cold weather is good for other things, though.
When there are smaller issues in the schools that come up, for example, if there are problems with boilers or problems with Internet and stuff, usually what happens is the principal is notified. The principal then notifies the superintendent, who notifies the school authority. We do give every school board's authorities, school bodies, we give them operating and maintenance monies. That is to take care of general maintenance in their buildings.
If they are bigger than that, they actually are brought to the attention of Education, Culture and Employment. At that time, we go in. We work closely with ITI to go in and do an assessment of the needs within the building. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I understand that the GNWT provided some small capital funding for the removal of hazardous portables and the creation of a play space at Moose Kerr School. What is the status of this work?
We did find, when we assessed the portables, that there were hazardous materials, so we were going to take them out of there. We thought that it would be completed in August. However, the bids were not successful and so the procurement process did delay the project, but we are on it now. We are expecting that the demolition will take place coming up this March, and then the playground will be completed. The playground will start in the spring, but the demolition should be completed by summer of this coming year.
The Department of Education, Culture and Employment also planned to engage with the community to address safety concerns for children walking to school and using the parking area. What is the status of this work, and how has the department worked with the community over the past year?
I want to meet with the Member after session, because I am little bit confused as to whether he is talking about now or a previous meeting with the parents. Normally, whenever we do any major construction we meet with the community and with parents to get them aware and to address any concerns that they may have. When we are looking at the demolition of the portables, we will do that process, as well.
If the Member is speaking about something different, which I figure he might be, then if you could please let me know, and then I can address those issues, as well.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as we were planning all of this work that was going to take place, like the parking area, the department said that they will meet with the hamlet and the community and speak with them to see what they would like to see done for the safety issues. Going into the 2019-2020 year, what is the department's current plan for Moose Kerr School? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Like I stated earlier, currently the future plan for the school is that we will be doing the demolition project. We will be doing the playground. I would love to say that we were giving them a new school. I know that they have wanted that for many years. I would love to have new schools in every community. The reality, though, is that we don't have the funding, so we have to look at schools based on the age of them, the condition, and the utilization rate. Unfortunately, the age is old; the condition rate is good; and the utilization rate, I think, is 36 percent or something really low, so it does get bumped down in the process.
As for the parking, again, if there was a commitment made that we would go in and talk to them about the general parking at the school, then I will make sure that that commitment is fulfilled, and so I will make that a priority. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
