Public decries possibility of displacing J. H. Sissons students in Yellowknife

Parents, teachers and concerned citizens met Thursdaynight at an open house at J. H. SissonsSchool to discuss options for tearing it down.

The school was built in 1975, and has never had any major renovations. Last year, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment and Yellowknife Education District No. 1 opted to build a new school rather thanrenovating.

• Yellowknife's J.H. Sissonsschool could be replaced in coming years

Now, the question is whether to keep Sissons open while a new school is built on a different location on the property, or send students to other schools while a new school is built on Sissons' footprint.

A representative from Taylor Architecture Group was at the meeting to present details about these options.

Representatives from the company recommended tearing the school down and building a new facilityin the same spot, which would leave a two-year gap without Sissons.

Most people at the meeting were not fans of thatproposal.

Jeff Seabrook, the principal of William McDonald Middle School, said he wants more options explored to keep the current school open during construction.

"I think that it was a very pro-one-side option," said Seabrook.

If Sissons closes, a number of students would be displaced to Seabrook'sschool, and he's worried the influx will negatively affect the learning environment there.

Parents also had a chance to ask questions.

Sarah Kalnay-Watson, whose daughter attends Sissons, was not satisfied with the level of thought and creativity put into planning the new school.

"We weren't given necessarily the proper options," she said.

The architects' designs for the new school were rectangularor square. Kalnay-Watson wanted to see a better use of shape, and took it upon herself to draw out an idea of her own.

"Shape could be important in the sense that we can save the land and still play with architecture," she said.

Taylor Architecture Group said the shape of the building wasn't important at this stage of planning, but Kalnay-Watson disagreed.

It's not just parents and principals whodon't want to see the students moved it's also school district trustees.

Terry Brookes is in support of an option that would see the new school built where itsparking lot is currently located.

"I would rather move cars than kids," he said.

Many people in the room clearly agreed, as this comment was welcomed with a round of applause.

At the end of the presentations, attendees were given the opportunity to write out thoughts and comments for the proposed locations.

Moving students would cost $1.5M

Temporarily moving students to a new school could have some cost attached to it.

School board superintendent Metro Huculak said there may not be enough classroom space to hold everybody. In this case, they would get about four portables, with a price tag of $1.5 million.

Huculak also saidstaff, such as teachers and janitors, will not lose their jobs if the students are moved to different schools.

Yellowknife District No. 1 plans to have a schematic design for the new school completed in May. After that, the plan will be sent to the N.W.T. government, where funding approval could take as long as five years.

There will be a school board meeting on Tuesday, where members will vote on whether they want to build the new school on the current location.