Wendy Bisaro

I really don’t understand why we need to take more money in 2015-16 to fund a program that is apparently a program that is operational. so I may come back to that.

Small schools have a lower pupil-teacher ratio than do the larger schools. I referenced that in my statement. They need different treatment, and I accept that. Smaller schools have a smaller number of students. They, therefore, need a certain number of teachers to get their programs going. ECE has a small schools funding formula and it is specifically to assist small schools to give them money for their special needs and to account...

Stress to small schools is not what I want, and I’m sure it’s not what the Ministers want, but to do otherwise is unfair to the larger education authorities and that unfairness is being categorically ignored. The justification seems to be that the larger authorities can handle it, so let’s take advantage of them. The fairest solution is to provide new JK funding for the new JK program. That way all schools will be able to keep the staff they currently have and maintain delivery of the excellent programs they provide.

If, as stated yesterday, the regional centres and YK board budgets are reduced...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I just want to follow up a bit on this same subject. I think Mr. Bromley has covered most of it.

My question here is similar to his and maybe I will try asking it in a different way. My concern is that it has been referenced that GNWT can’t just remove an employee, but where is it written that we can’t do that? What safeguards exist? Where are they that one could go look at them and read them that basically states we can’t just remove somebody or we have to have cause to remove somebody? Because it’s not clear what safeguards are in place to prevent the Minister from...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I did sort of mention in my remarks I’m slightly confused why we are deleting the definition of layoff and I mentioned I think it’s because there’s a difference in the way that the word “layoff” it’s used, whether it’s used as a noun or a verb. I didn’t hear that, I don’t think, in the Minister’s remarks. I also didn’t hear about what consultation was done, but I don’t know if we can go to the Minister at this point or not, but that is a concern. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We would like to consider Bill 30, An Act to Amend the Public Service Act, Bill 25, An Act to Amend the Education Act, and Bill 27, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2014.

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.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table a document from the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, “Projected Funded Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR) Based on September 2013 Enrolment Data.” Thank you.

I don’t think I heard an answer to my question, so I guess school boards are looking forward to reductions in 2015-16 and they aren’t going to get anything back for at least another two or three years.

The Premier referenced surpluses and he referenced the need for particularly the two boards in Yellowknife to use up their surpluses. There are other boards with surpluses. I’d like to ask the Premier if the need to use up surplus to deal with the funding shortfall because of the reductions that are happening, is the need to use up surpluses the same for every education authority or is he looking...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that we report progress.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Premier and I want to follow up on some questions that my colleague Mr. Dolynny asked earlier following up on the statement of the Premier today. I want to, at the outset, indicate that I am very pleased and was pleased to hear the statement from the Premier. It is good news. But one of the things Mr. Dolynny asked had to do with funding and the funding ongoing. The Premier indicated in one of his answers that there were funding reductions for education authorities in this fiscal year, 2014-15, that there would be reductions in...