Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to follow up with some further questions to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
I’m struggling with the answer that the Minister gave me with regards to the implementation of a 16 to 1 funding at 16 to 1 pupil-teacher ratio. It has been stated many times that education authorities are over-funded and that we need to fund our legislated PTR of 16 to 1.
Looking at the department’s numbers, using the department’s own numbers, and albeit they are from 2013, but it is entirely possible that if we have a 16 to 1 pupil-teacher ratio across the board, we will end up with five schools that will have one staff, or maybe even half a staff.
So, I would like to again ask the Minister, how is the department or this government going to implement a 16 to 1 pupil-teacher ratio in all of our schools across the board? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Minister of Education, Minister Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. When I met with all of the school boards on May 23rd, I did commit to making some changes. Part of the changes, of course, is providing flexibility. Providing anything beyond 16 to 1 teacher ratio in their school system, the education authority will be provided a subsidy from my department. That is a commitment I have made. It is based on an average throughout the Northwest Territories.
There will be some impact, in some cases, where there is a high enrollment of students entering our school system. Those are some of the areas that we will continue to monitor, but at this point I did make a commitment that anything above 16 to 1 we will provide that subsidy to that organization. Mahsi.
Thanks to the Minister. So, I guess, it is an average across the territory. We’re going to make sure that no school or no education authority is beyond 16 to 1, which is appreciated for sure. But if that’s the case, then the Minister is going to subsidize from within the department. So we are going to end up reducing education authority funding and then he’s going to add money back in. Is that correct? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, as I stated, I have committed to providing district education councils anything above 16 to 1, we will provide a subsidy. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have to take that as a yes.
Junior Kindergarten now has 23 schools; sorry, Junior Kindergarten is being offered in 23 schools and I have to assume that that JK program in those 23 schools is fully funded.
So I would like to ask the Minister, how are those schools being funded if next year there needs to be more money taken from education authorities’ budgets? Is it being fully funded this year? If it is not being fully funded by the budget reductions, is there an internal reallocation that is funding part of the JK program? Thank you.
Clearly, the statement was made in this House that the Junior Kindergarten will be continuing this year and next year. Based on the funding that has been allocated to date, it will continue for this year and next year. That was in the statement yesterday. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am still trying to find out how JK is being funded, if it’s the budget reductions that are funding it.
I would like to ask the Minister, if we are going to have reductions to education authority budgets in ‘15-16, what will that money be used for? Thank you.
For the 23 communities, JK has been funded out of the $150 million budget. Those are the areas that we have discussed with the school board chairs back in May and even before that. We will continue to address that, even part of the review process that we have committed in this House in the 23 communities. This year JK is being delivered into our communities on an optional basis, this year and next year as well. We will continue to monitor those areas. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
