Mr. Speaker, I have a return to written question asked by Ms. Bisaro on February 7, 2014, regarding reallocation of funds for junior kindergarten. Ms. Bisaro requested a breakdown, by department, showing where the reallocated $1.8 million in funding to implement junior kindergarten in 2014-15 in our smallest NWT communities will be found.
Mr. Speaker, the $1.8 million to implement the optional, play-based Junior Kindergarten Program for four-year-olds in 29 small communities across the Northwest Territories in 2014-15 will be sourced from the Department of Education, Culture and Employment.
Ms. Bisaro also asked from which line of the department’s budget the reallocated funds will be sourced and the amount for each budget line. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment will be re-profiling existing education authority contributions. These are the operations and maintenance contributions for the operation of school programs, which are projected to total $152 million in 2014-15. The re-profiled funding will come from adjusting the K to 12 pupil-teacher ratio, or PTR. It is important to note that although the PTR will be adjusted to accommodate the implementation of junior kindergarten, PTR funding will still remain above the minimum legislated PTR level. In the NWT, a large part of the calculation of the amount of funding provided to education authorities is determined by looking at the number of students and how many teachers and support staff are needed for those students. The legislated pupil-teacher ratio is 16 to one, whereas current funding levels to education authorities are actually much higher, at about 13 to one, which is almost $11 million annually above the legislated requirement.
The total projected cost of implementing junior kindergarten, based on the school year of July 1 to June 30, will be as follows:
In the 2014-15 school year, the cost of implementing junior kindergarten in 29 communities is projected to be $2.8 million annually;
In the 2015-16 school year, the cost of adding regional centres – Inuvik, Fort Smith and Hay River – is projected to be $1.7 million annually; and
In the 2016-17 school year, the cost of adding Yellowknife schools is projected to be $2.5 million annually.
The total cost to offer junior kindergarten in all of our communities, a goal that will be accomplished in September 2016, is projected to be $7 million annually. This cost will be absorbed by education authorities over the three-year implementation time frame and on an ongoing basis. We anticipate that there will be minor infrastructure investments required in some of our schools to make sure they are equipped for four-year-olds, but this cost will not be borne by the education authorities.
Ms. Bisaro also asked for the amount of reallocated funding that will be sourced from each individual education authority. Mr. Speaker, five education authorities will end up receiving a slight increase in funding as a result of junior kindergarten, while five will experience a slight decrease. Of the five education authorities experiencing a slight decrease, the greatest decrease, over three years, is just a 1.2 percent reduction in their total funding.
Specifically, over the next three years and annually thereafter, we are projecting that the Beaufort-Delta Education Authority will experience a net decrease of 0.4 percent, or $122,000 to their funding; the South Slave Divisional education Council will experience a net decrease of 0.9 percent, or $207,000; the Tlicho Community Services Agency will experience a net decrease of 0.1 percent, or $19,000; the Yellowknife Catholic Schools will experience a net decrease of 1.2 percent, or $214,000; and the Yellowknife Education District No. 1 will experience a net decrease of 0.3 percent, or $62,000.
Over the next three years and ongoing, we are also projecting that the Commission scolaire francophone will experience a net increase of 2.5 percent, or $104,000; the Dehcho Divisional Education Council will experience a net increase of 0.1 percent, or $7,000; the Detah District Education Authority will experience a net increase of 0.8 percent, or $14,000; the Ndilo District Education Authority will experience a net increase of 4.2 percent, or $91,000; and the Sahtu Divisional education Council will experience a net increase of 3.1 percent, or $408,000.
Mr. Speaker, our education authorities are run by professional administrators who I am confident will be able to manage a reduction of 1.2 percent, or less, over three years, especially considering that our education authorities are sitting on projected accumulated cash surpluses that total $8 million this school year. Mr. Speaker, given the fiscal realities we face, we are confident this is the best approach to funding this important and exciting new program for our children.
Let’s not lose sight of the big picture. We are talking about a minor financial impact in exchange for introducing free, optional, play-based, full-day junior kindergarten for four-year-olds across the NWT. Mr. Speaker, this government has heard what parents have said, and we are responding. The research clearly demonstrates that a quality daycare program for four-year-olds will not only improve school success but success in life as well. This, Mr. Speaker, is what junior kindergarten is all about. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
