REPENTIGNY, Que. — Franklin-Hill Elementary is the only English-language school in east-end Repentigny.
It’s been around for 10 years and students, teachers and parents love it.
Inside there are modern classrooms, and outside the boys and girls enjoy a big schoolyard and an even bigger green space.
But that could soon change.
Last week, the City of Repentigny announced it will construct a new building on the roughly 22,000 sq. metres of greenspace next to the school.
The project calls for a new primary school that will house French students from the Des Affluents School Board.
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Parents from Franklin-Hill Elementary are furious with the proposed plan and they are calling the city’s proposed project “poor planning.”
They are worried about increased traffic in the area and a loss of quality in their children’s education.
“This is our school, we want to keep it the way it is,” Anne Chamandy told Global News.
“We want to keep our space.”
Chamandy leads a local parents’ committee that is raising awareness about the issue.
On Monday night, up to 100 parents plan to attend a City Council meeting at Repentigny City Hall to address their worries.
Franklin-Hill Elementary falls under the jurisdiction of the Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board.
Its’ director-general Stephanie Vucko said she supports the parents’ initiative.
“We’re not in a position to give up our land, it’s very unusual we’ve been implicated in this,” Vucko told Global News.
“It is unheard of that they would come and remove something from another board, let alone an anglophone board.”
Vucko said that officials from her school board have met with her counterparts from the Des Affluents School Board on three occasions to discuss the issue.
If the two sides cannot come to an agreement, Vucko says, it’s believed the Quebec Ministry of Education may be forced to intervene.
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