Julie Green

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, junior kindergarten is going to be a grade like no other within our school system for several reasons. It has to do with the way that this program is funded. In the first case, the government has committed to providing inclusive schooling to help children who are falling behind within the school system, but this inclusive schooling funding is not extended to junior kindergarten. When is that going to change, Mr. Speaker? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, These staffing reductions are made necessary because the school boards are expected to fund 13 or 14, I guess, at this point, 14 grades with 13 grades of funding, so the kinds of internal reallocations that were made necessary by having to create another year of school. Will those in fact be paid for fully by the department, meaning that the school boards don't have to do any reallocations to make JK happen?

Sorry. That relates to the question. As simply as possible, could the Minister either answer yes or no, will these internal reductions to implement JK still be necessary? Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the saga of what funding is available to implement junior kindergarten continues because communication by the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment and his department is so ineffective. But it is not too late to turn things around. What we need are some straight answers.

In early December, parents and trustees appeared at the Standing Committee on Social Development to deliver a simple message about the introduction of junior kindergarten. Another grade of school requires another grade of funding. At that point, the Minister said he planned to fund the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what we're talking about here is making school systems sustainable, making them friendly to the use of children and to help them to be successful there, and that starts from the time they get picked up at the door to the time they come back again and everything that happens in between. So, once again, I am going to ask if the Minister will include the additional costs of JK as he does with all the other grades when he is having his famous meeting with the superintendents? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It's my understanding that the school boards have asked the Minister to fund the busing of the junior kindergarten students. They anticipate that the cost could be up to $500,000 here in Yellowknife to accommodate those new 250 students who are going to be in school. Will the Minister pay for the extra costs of busing?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister just said there would be some supports there for them. Could the Minister please elaborate? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister commit to making sure that all the money is in place to fund junior kindergarten in every NWT school by the end of March? Thank you.

School boards are now developing their budgets for the next school year. One of the tasks that they have is to decide on their staffing component. If they are going to release teachers, they need to be released by the end of March. If they need to hire teachers, they need to know that as well. If the money is not going to be available until the fall, how are school boards going to plan for the implementation of junior kindergarten this fall?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if the preparation of the budget for the last fiscal year was a sprint, quickly compiled after the election, budget preparation for the next fiscal year has been a marathon. We started in September and, despite intensive negotiations and some movement on both sides, we are at an impasse. This afternoon, I want to talk about some of the reasons we are stuck.

In my last Budget Address, I talked about some important and unfinished business around the mandate. We Members of the 18th Assembly do not have a common fiscal goal. This lack of consensus created division...