English Montreal School Board commissioner Sylvia Lo Bianco fears that two schools in her district could close before the 2019-20 academic season.
According to Lo Bianco, Galileo Adult Education Centre and Rosemount Technology Centre face closure and the displacement of 1,750 adult students as the province moves to address overcrowding in its French-language schools.
“That would mean a disruption of (students) possibly not being able to attend a new facility,” Lo Bianco told Global News.
Schools belonging to the French-language school board of Pointe-de-l’Île are overcrowded and need space. Lo Bianco worries the two EMSB facilities could be considered as venues to relocate some students from Pointe-de-l’Île schools.
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Lo Bianco is demanding that the EMSB hold public meetings with the parents and community of the schools that will be affected. The commissioner requested the issue be added to the agenda during the Wednesday night board meeting, but her motion was defeated 9-2.
Lo Bianco insists all possibilities of finding space for the Pointe-de-l’Île school board need to be considered before any action is taken.
“We definitely need to look at all the scenarios,” she said.
She fears a decision by the education minister to close the two English schools could be made, forcing the students to relocate.
“If the school moves, I leave the school, too,” Estina Lagarre, an adult student at Galileo, told Global News.
More than 100 students at the adult school are people with special needs. The parent of one such student says moving to a new location would be very disruptive.
“It would be a pity if this institution, as it stands, were to be disbanded or discombobulated because they can do it,” Frank Pettinicchio, a parent of a child with special needs, told Global News.
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Lo Bianco is hoping to still convince the school board to consult the public first.
If the two schools were to close, it’s unknown where the students would be relocated.
Global News reached out to the EMSB several times for comment.