(file photo/paNOW)

By Susan McNeil

Location for new school

Location announcement of new École Valois building coming soon

Aug 6, 2024 | 3:55 PM

A location hasn’t been announced yet, but it will be soon, the head of the parent association at École Valois school heard at Tuesday’s city council meeting.

Roger Boucher spoke to Prince Albert city council on Tuesday, urging them to look for a suitable location for a new building for the city’s only francophone school.

“I believe we can work together to find a common solution,” Boucher said. “It would be amazing if we could all find a plot of land.”

He said that there are 600 rights holders to francophone education in the city, which should accommodate the 183 students currently in the school and the possibility of growth.

“We do 100 per cent support it,” said Mayor Greg Dionne. “We are close. We do think we have a final location.”

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Because the province is building the school, they have to agree to the location. One challenge is seeking a larger parcel of land.

Most schools need about six acres and in this case, Boucher said they need about 10 acres because the building will also include a cultural centre and a daycare.

Dionne said the top location at the moment is about eight acres.

The construction of a new K-12 building was announced in the 2023/23 provincial budget but discussions on the need for a new location have been going on much longer than that.

Councillor Dennis Ogrodnick asked for some clarity as there were renovations a few years ago.

Boucher said the money was primarily spent making sure high school students had adequate classrooms but they are still over-capacity.

“Any room that is large enough to hold 20 kids is now a classroom,” he said. That includes rooms that were meant to hold mechanical supplies, the library storage area and not all of the rooms have windows.

Council referred the matter to the community development department, but Dionne said that a location will be announced very soon.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com