Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. As previously mentioned in this House in many of my Member’s statements, the people of Trout Lake need a stand-alone school.
Officially known as Charles Tetcho School, the school is currently housed in a multi-purpose building. The building is also used as a community hall. The school portion essentially consists of a single classroom. For the number of students, the school is overcrowded and the facilities are inadequate. The Minister of Education has toured the school with me, so he has witnessed the problems firsthand.
Trout Lake has grown in size in recent years and school enrollment has grown with it. Enrollment is expected to remain steady, or even increase in the coming years.
In terms of the quality of school facilities, there’s a wide discrepancy between urban centres and small communities. This is simply unfair.
All students deserve a quality education facility, regardless of where they live. These concerns should be considered in light of the department’s explicit and well-publicized objective to eliminate the achievement gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students. The community is reaching out for help. As the MLA responsible for Trout Lake, I’m also seeking support from colleagues and decision-makers.
One proposed option is to expand the school portion within the community complex. However, that would limit space for community activities. I am pleased to say, since then there has been agreement by the community to increase the area being used by the school, but once again it means less community space for local programming.
This is like a band-aid remedy. Upgrades don’t address the fundamental problems. The school isn’t large enough and it has no room for future growth. By the year 2018 there will probably be improvements to the school infrastructure, but we have no assurance of that. In any case, five years is too long a wait.
A planning study should be undertaken for a stand-alone school. Residents are not asking for a super-school, only for a school that will begin to level the playing field for Trout Lake residents and students. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
