Yukon francophone school board trial winds down

A lengthy funding fight between the Yukon government and the territory's francophone school board is winding down in a Whitehorse courtroom, as lawyers make their final arguments.

Lawyers for the government and the Commission scolaire francophone du Yukon finished their closing arguments Wednesday in Yukon Supreme Court, capping a trial that has lasted over a year.

Deputy Justice Vital Ouellette, a French-speaking Alberta judge who has been presiding over the case, promised to issue a decision as soon as possible.

The francophone board, which operates cole milie-Tremblay in Whitehorse, accuses the Yukon government of withholding federal funds that were earmarked for the school.

Lawyers for the board argued that the government has failed to meet its legal obligation to education "francophone right-holders" in their own language.

The territorial government argues that the francophone school board is adequately funded. Government lawyers have already appealed an interim order by Ouellette to pay for three additional positions at the school.

School 'bursting at the seams': principal

On Tuesday, school board officials gave reportersa tour of cole milie-Tremblay to show why they need $15 million to expand the school, which currently has 184 students.

Principal Marc Champagne said the elementary grade levels are overcrowded, leaving insufficient space for older students.

"With the number of students we have, we already feel that we're bursting at the seams, even though the actual capacity on paper might be greater," Champagne said.

There are 44 children enrolled in kindergarten classes, while a total of 41 students are enrolled in all of the school's high school levels. There are just seven students in combined classes for Grades 11 and 12.

With limited space and programming, Champagne said students tend to transfer out to other Whitehorse schools when they get older.

"We have really large classes in the elementary [grades], and if we want to keep those students we're going to have to offer them something that is competitive with the other high schools," he said.

Champagne said architects have designed a $15-million school expansion. The bigger facility would double as a community centre for Yukon's francophone population, he added.

"There's federal funding across the country for these programs, and so we're not stealing or robbing resources from other programs," he said.

But in court Wednesday, government lawyers rejected the school board's arguments and cost estimates for the school expansion, arguing that enrollment is still at just 60 per cent of the building's capacity.