The site of the former Rivier Academy is being considered for a planned francophone school in P.A. (file photo/paNOW Staff)

By Charlene Tebbutt

Rivier Academy

Province announces plans for new francophone school in P.A.

Mar 26, 2019 | 10:37 AM

Both sides involved in bringing a new francophone school to Prince Albert aren’t saying much about the idea, although the province has confirmed plans are in the works.

The Government of Saskatchewan announced a partnership late last week with the Conseil des Écoles Fransaskoises (CÉF) and a new funding model for francophone education in the province. The two sides are also looking at options around an interim francophone school in Prince Albert to address “the community’s concerns with the existing school,” a release from the province said.

paNOW has previously reported the school division’s current school, École Valois is struggling with overcrowding. The province said the new funding model is the first of its kind in Saskatchewan.

The province’s Ministry of Education said the government received a request from the CÉF for a replacement elementary school in the city as well, and a new six-year memorandum of understanding has been signed. The province has also committed to new schools in Saskatoon and Regina in the coming years.

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The release says the province is looking at the former Rivier Academy in Prince Albert as a potential location for CÉF students, but would not comment further. In an emailed statement, the province said Gordon Wyant, minister of education, visited Prince Albert last week to tour the Rivier Academy site.

A spokesperson for the CÉF refused to comment on the project when contacted by paNOW.

Prince Albert City Council received a development application last year to turn the property into seniors’ housing, but plans for the location appear to have fallen through. An advisor to the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary said the group is now looking to other opportunities for use of the building.

“The Sisters, as a community, they’re aging and they’re looking at some residential options that won’t require them to be in that building long term,” Lawyer Mitch Holash said Monday. “So, they’re looking at some options for use of that building that would be respectful of their legacy and meaningful to their legacy and what they’ve meant to this community.”

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Charlene.tebbutt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @CharleneTebbutt