Arviat education authority opposes planned teacher cuts

Five communities acrossNunavutwill lose more than 20 combined teaching positionsat the start of the 2015-16 school year, says the territorial government.

It's part of a territory-wide shuffling of resources that will see an extra10 and a half teaching positions overall,but it's not good news for the five communities that will lose teaching staff.

Baker Lake and Cambridge Bay will lose five and four and a half positions, respectively, whileClydeRiver and CapeDorsetwill each lose between one and two positions.

But with12 and a half positions set for the chopping block next school year,Arviatstands tolosethe most jobs, something that's not sitting well with theArviatDistrict Education Authority.

"It's quite a big shock for us," saysNorma JeanKablutsiak, a member of the authority.

The Arviat DEAsays the cuts to its community are based on a faulty calculation methodthat ignores the realities of life in the territory.

Only first month of school year counted for attendance

The territorial government says the localized cuts are neededbecause enrolment and attendance aredown.

BradleyArchambault,the acting assistant deputy minister of education, says the number of teachers needed is determined using a funding formula plus enrolment figures.

"Where a student is deemed anon-attendermeaning a chronic issue of non-attendancethey do not get counted as a full time equivalent," saysArchambault, adding that students who do notattend class 40 per cent of the time or more are classified asnon-attenders.

Attendance is only measured during the first month of school, saysArchambault and that's the problem, according toKablutsiak.

She says that's not an accurate representation of the student population becausemany students are out caribou hunting with their families in September.

Archambaultsays it's possible students who don't meet the attendance threshold during the first month of school can then go on to attend school more than 40 per cent of the time. But he adds, "historicallywhat we have seen is that typically attendance and enrolment tend to be highest at the beginning of the year and it seems to trickle off."

Arviat'spopulation rising

Nunavut schools have been using new software, called Maplewood, for the past two years to track student attendance and enrolment.

Kablutsiak says the high school enters data differently than the elementary and middle schools, andthat could be one of the reasons her numbers don't match the government's count.

Kablutsiakalso disputes the territorial government's estimate of students inArviat'sthree schools, saying the number is actuallymuch higher.

"I just hope this discrepancy will be dealt with soon," she says.

The authority is planning a community meeting to discuss the cuts, she adds.

According to estimates from theNunavutBureau of Statistics, the population ofArviatincreased from 2,314to 2,611 people between July 2010 to July 2014.