French school board gets $400K to fight appeal

A court has ordered the Yukon government to pay the francophone school board $400,000 to cover legal expenses in an ongoing fight over French education in the territory.

In a court ruling last summer, the Yukon government was ordered to build a high school in Whitehorse to complement the francophone school boards existing K-12 school,colemilie-Tremblay. The new school would cost an estimated $30 million.

The ruling also said the francophone board, not the territorial government, should control student enrolment. The Yukon government had wanted school admissions restricted to children from francophone families.

The Yukon government is appealing the decision and the money awarded this week is to cover the school board's costs to fight the appeal.

The school board has already been awarded almost $1.5 million for costs and damages in this case. The school board says it has spent almost $1 million so far on legal costs.

The Yukon government has not disclosed howmuch it has spent fighting the case.

The government's appeal will be heard next March in Whitehorse.