Yellowknife's public school board will join the local Catholic school board next week in protesting the Northwest Territories government's plans to merge them and health, housing and social service boards, saying there hasn't been adequate consultation.

The head of the public board, known as YK1, says it will hold its own demonstration Feb. 18 outside the N.W.T. legislature. Parents and supporters of the YK1 board will start rallying at 3:15 p.m., while those with the Yellowknife Catholic Schools board will start theirs at 1:30 p.m.

Both school boards are opposed to the government's plan to amalgamate the territory's education, health, housing and social services boards into seven large regional super-boards that the government says will be more efficient.

The plan would merge the Catholic board with the Yellowknife public school board and the city's other public service boards in a move that Catholic board officials say would destroy their separate Roman Catholic education system.

YK1 chairman Duff Spence told CBC News his board wants parents and others to make their concerns known to MLAs and to Finance Minister Michael Miltenberger, who is spearheading the amalgamation.

"We'd like to show the Yellowknife MLAs that the majority of the people in Yellowknife don't support this position that the minister is taking and, more importantly, don't support the process that he's using in terms of consultation," Spence said Thursday.

Aside from an hour-long meeting with board officials in December, Spence said, the territorial government has not consulted them about what the merger will mean.

Government officials sent out an information package and survey on Jan. 29 on the amalgamation plan, officially called the Board Reform Initiative. They hope to finish compiling findings from their consultations by April.

Spence pointed out that both the YK1 and YCS boards own property in Yellowknife, operate with budget surpluses, and have elected trustees.

The Feb. 18 protest will coincide with the 2009 N.W.T. Teachers Conference, for which 850 teachers from across the territory will gather from Feb. 16 to 18 in the capital city.