Last week the Government of Saskatchewan and the Conseil des écoles fransaskoises (CÉF) announced the sites for new Francophone Schools in Saskatoon and Prince Albert.
The new CÉF school in Prince Albert will replace École Valois and will be designed to accommodate up to 350 Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 12 students, including 51 childcare spaces. It will be located near the Alfred Jenkins Field House.
Roger Boucher, the president of the Parent Council for Ecole Valois, said they are happy to see the project making progress. “I think it’s exciting to have made headway,” Boucher said. “I think there’s a lot of work to be done moving forward because really that’s the first step in the new school. We’re now at step one.” However, there is also disappointment mixed in with the excitement.
Boucher said the council preferred the new school be located on Marquis Rd.
“There’s always a lot of a lot of different things going on with any kind of large build, especially school builds and especially when you’re dealing with the Charter of Rights,” he said. “There’s always different things that kind of come up and mess with things.
“Being that it’s a francophone school system. The Charter is involved, which is a double-edged sword,” he added. Although it’s not their ideal site Boucher said that they are still excited to see what the project will look like. “
We’re hoping that it will have the components that are necessary for an amazing school to flourish and have enough space that we can move forward,” he said. “Because we all know that once a school is built, it’s going to be many years before they build another school, so (it has to be) big enough to carry the school and the students into the future.” The provincial government announced plans to replace Ecole Valois on Budget Day in 2023, although the idea had been talked about prior to that. Boucher also spoke about the project to City Council in August.
The business case and cost analysis for the conversion of Rivier Academy to a citizen-based community school centre were submitted in February 2020 to former Minister of Education Gord Wyant at his request. In March 2019, the Government of Saskatchewan and its Fransaskois school board signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the construction of a francophone school in Prince Albert. Currently, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of SaskBuilds and Procurement and the CÉF are working with the City of Saskatoon and the City of Prince Albert and will soon begin procuring project managers to ensure the specific needs of the Francophone community and CÉF are fully understood and thoughtfully included in the planning and design of the new schools. In Saskatoon, the planned location is in the Kensington neighbourhood, adjacent to Lions Century Park. When complete, it will accommodate up to 400 Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 6 students and will provide 51 child care spaces.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
