Nunavut education authorities to get more money for full-time office managers
Their role is to help with student travel, discipline, language programming and hiring school staff
The Education Department is providing more money to Nunavut’s district education authorities starting this summer so they can employ office managers full time. (File photo)
The Nunavut government is increasing funding to district education authorities across the territory so they can employ office managers on a full-time basis.
The government announced the change Tuesday in a news release. The funding will come into effect in July.
A district education authority is locally elected body composed of community members responsible for the administration of schools in Nunavut.
Office managers help carry out the functions of the authority, including assisting parents with questions and issues, student travel, discipline, language programming and hiring school staff.
The Education Department currently only provides part-time funding for the authority to fill this role.
More money will help with staff retention, said Doug Workman, manager of policy and research for the Coalition of Nunavut District Education Authorities.
“The office manager responsibilities are immense, and for the last few years there’s been a really high turnover for part-time DEA office managers,” he said.
“People would do the best they can and they can only do so much when you’re getting paid for three hours a day when you’ve got kids to feed.”
Workman said he didn’t know how much more money the authorities can expect.
The Education Department didn’t include the figure in its release and didn’t immediately provide it when asked.
However, Workman said the extra money could lead to the enhancement of full-time benefits for those already employed or the hiring of extra workers to help on a casual basis.
Jedidah Merkosak, who chairs the coalition of DEAs, said the stability of the DEA workforce is important and will allow the authorities to “better meet their obligations and responsibilities” under the territorial Education Act.
Monies , just keep coming , like a big funnel .
Will there be additional Training provided as well?
When I go to job interviews, they don’t ask if I can drum dance and throat sing or if I can speak/understand English.
What?
There is NO job that anyone gets that they need NO training. Even someone with full educational background in the field still needs training on how things are done in that department… in fact with anything associated with he GN everyone needs training ever couple years because just because it was done one way last year does not mean it is still done that way.
And this is Nunavut, anyone that will be the office manager of the DEA probably hasnt had many other jobs… or was the way when it was part time… maybe at full time we can attract better people. but they will still need training.
Long overdue. Also bring back regional Boards Of Education
When Metro Solomon was Director and I was Comptroller of the then Keewatin Divisional Noard of Education, we provided annual Admiinistrative and Finacial training to the Board as well as these DEA councils and their secretary/treasurers.
For so.me reason after, the Department disbanded the Boards
IMHO that was a mistake at many levels
Sorry for the typos, but I hope you understood. I HATE, with a passion, typing on my phone with my old fate fingers and blurry eyes. LOL.
“the Department” didn’t disband the Education Boards (or the Health Boards). The Nunavut Implementation Commission recommended that Nunavut should have one elected Education Board and one elected Health Board. Interim Commissioner Jack Anawak disagreed, and eliminated the Boards altogether. And I agree, that was a big mistake.
They should bring back the School boards!
Money Money Money Monnnnnney.. I guess if the Inuit of the Nunavut communities do not wish to work for the school board then the school board will be hiring anglophones and or refugees to fill these positions. If this does happen, how many Inuit in Nunavut will once again place blame on the Qallunaq and other cultures for invading their communities. Its time to man up and parents should be taking more responsibilities in parenting rather then getting stoned, drunk or playing internet games.
there are lots of hard working Inuit, don’t pile us all up into 1 bunch, its some loud few that want 100k jobs with no qualifications and no education that say that stuff
I agree 100%. I have lived here for 36 years now and have met many many fine hard working Inuit. It is sad that we lump them and many First Nations members in this way. Some of these negative commenters (many I hate to say Southerners) must forget we have many whites who are also Lazy, TVwatching, druggies/drinkers in the South. Like any other race, the majority are hard-working, family-oriented people.
It’s incredible to see someone get so upset at imagined complaints attributed to deadbeat people, and lumping all of that in and thrown at an entire ethnic group…
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This is just an article about beefing up funding such that people can devote the proper amount of time and effort to a difficult and necessary job. It’s one thing to respond to attitudes that might have been on display but it’s another thing entirely to conjure all of this up whole cloth and go off on it.
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Nothing about this article has anything to with addiction/drinking/unemployment etc. It’s about increased funding for a particular job.
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NN runs many articles about the difficult state of education related employment and this is no different – education related work is important and should be properly compensated in that regard. Education deserves proper compensation and proper, full-time focus.
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To twist such a neutral and bog standard article about something that is rather uncontroversial into something as discriminatory and vile as your comment is truly incredible.
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You’re imagining people out of thin air, complaining about them, and saying us inuit need to ‘man up’ and stop being irresponsibly drunk, lazy drug addicts.
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This might be one of the worst NN comments I’ve ever seen, which is really saying something.
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And yet this whole comment is written in defence of non-inuit… if you think the attitudes towards non-inuit are so bad, how should we characterise this attitude on display towards us?
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This is honestly a disgusting attitude.
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Many of us have a great deal of responsibility in our careers, my parents were incredibly loving and functional and accomplished. This could also be said of dozens and dozens of my family members and hundreds more people across different communities in the territory, and across Inuit Nunangat. This could be said about most people, let alone most inuit.
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There is a reason you are so fixated on perception of Inuit as irresponsible, drug-addled good for nothings and it’s not because this is truly representative of our people as a whole – it is because you are racist and fixate on negative perceptions of us to build up the standard of us in your head.
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It’s tragic to see, an insight into how bitter and broken some people are that this is how they see the world and how they see others around them. I honestly can’t imagine thinking this about any group of people in the world, let alone confidently spewing this kind of hatred into the wider world for others to see…it is easier for me to imagine alien life than someone who sees the world we share this way!
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I hope for better in your future. Life is too short to be so rude and pessimistic tbh.
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Taima!
Wow! Articulate. Thanks for that commentary. You are very on the button and you didn’t even have to say “reverse racism ” I have lived here long and i am qallunaq and experienced change in ways many couldn’t understand without some form of cynicism buried deep in their retoric. I am humbled. You are a straight shooter. It is unfortunate that the commenter you addressed will likely not accept or understand your words or view.
“Wow, Articulate” … lol. You seem surprised?
Do you try to spin any article, like a simple article about changing a part time position into a full time one,, to push your racist beliefs towards Inuit? This entire article has nothing to do with what you are stating, and it’s purely your small minded ideology. Grow up
Step 1. Parents, if you know something, teach it to your children.
Step 2. Parents, if you don’t know something, go to school with your children and all of you learn it together.
There is a lot I dont know, also i need to work and make money to feed my kids… so i cant go to school with them… though i can make sure they go and i expect them to learn from people that know different things then what i know.
But yes there are things i know that i also teach my children (not be little aholes, kindness, respect, taking care of family, hunting, camping, and a bunch of other stuff i know), and i dont expect the school to teach them EVERYTHING. I expect at minimum reading, writing (both english and Inuktitut), and Math. They are only in Elementary school.
Science, physics, chemistry, trades (that are past my basic knowledge) should be covered when they are older.