Range Lake MLA Kieron Testart questioned education minister Caitlin Cleveland on Thursday about “very serious concerns” brought to his attention during a visit to Fort Simpson.
The administration at Líídlįį Kúę Elementary School has come under recent scrutiny, with some parents saying staff have not provided enough support for students engaged in leadership activities and sports.
In the legislature, Testart – without detailing individual incidents – said parents had complained of “mishandling of a critical incident, leadership failures and inaction, misinformation and inconsistent communication, alleged retaliation and abuse of authority,” alongside a lack of communication.
Testart said problems had caused some staff members to leave and an increase in stress-related leave, while creating a “sense of unsafety within the school environment.”
When the district education authority tried to intervene, he said, its members described being “met with perceived favouritism and a lack of fairness from supervisory officials with inadequate responses to serious complaints and no real community engagement.”
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Testart urged Cleveland to take action on issues raised by both the Fort Simpson District Education Authority and Dehcho Divisional Education Council.
Fort Simpson is part of the Nahendeh electoral district represented by Speaker of the House Shane Thompson, whose role dictates that he cannot raise this kind of contentious issue in the House in a way other MLAs can.
Earlier in May, Testart wrote on Facebook that he had travelled to Fort Simpson “to help out my friend Shane Thompson with some issues in the community.”
On Thursday, Testart called on Cleveland to take “immediate administrative action to remove or reassign” individuals identified as being central to some of the concerns expressed about the Fort Simpson school system.
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In response, Cleveland said her government had to abide by due process when addressing issues involving teachers or other public servants in the NWT. The minister said she was using the resources available to her while listening to the concerns of DEA and DEC members.
“There is due process under way right now,” she replied.
“There is a responsibility on all of us to ensure that we have healthy relationships across this territory. We’re a small territory and we’re all very intimately connected.
“We all, I would like to believe, at the end of the day, have the common goal of success and prosperity of northerners and our northern children at heart.”
