Former students start petition to save Riverdale High School

Jason Comm, Amanda Lovelace and Sam Godon have fond memories of attending Riverdale High School.

“There are families and generations that have gone to this school,” said Lovelace while at a meeting with Liberal MNA Monsef Derraji.

The three former Riverdale students met with the Nelligan MNA to see what steps can be taken to save their old school.

Francois Legault’s CAQ government announced Monday that it was closing the English school in Pierrefonds, and giving it over to the over-crowded French Marguerite Bourgeoys school board.

“This is an English institution. We have to keep it around because we are Quebecers, too, and deserve to have our institutions maintained,” said Comm.

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The group has started a petition to try and keep the school open, and Derraji says the petition could help him make a case to the minister.

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“It is something I can take to the minister and say, ‘this is serious and from our community,'” said Derraji.

While at a caucus meeting in Gatineau, Premier Francois Legault told reporters that the party considered having the French school share space with the English school, but that after months of negotiations, realized that it wouldn’t work.

“We were open to this scenario, but after reviewing the number of students in the different schools, it was possible to have the school only for francophones,” said Legault.

Education Minister Jean-Francois Roberge says that the overcrowding situation at the French school is a “crisis” and so the government had to take action.

Comm and his friends are convinced that there has to be another solution — one that keeps Riverdale open and in the English community.