Discussions to continue Friday over future of Galileo Adult Education Centre

After months of back and forth, Wednesday is the deadline Quebec’s education minister gave to the English Montreal and Pointe-de-l’île school boards to come up with a solution to the overcrowding problem at the French board.

The English Montreal School Board (EMSB) says it already offered a solution — the Galileo Adult Education Centre in Montreal, which serves more than 140 students with special needs.

WATCH: Galileo Adult Education Centre protests

1:56 Galileo students and staff protest school closure

• Galileo students and staff protest school closure
• Galileo school community fights forced move

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Under the proposed solution, the building would be transferred to the Pointe-de-l’île school board, while the entire Galileo school would possibly be relocated to St. Pius X Career Centre.

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After coming under heavy criticism at the National Assembly, Education Minister Jean-François Roberge said he had never proposed moving Galileo.

Officials at the EMSB, however, contend that Roberge asked the EMSB to give the name of a school to hand over to the French-language system.

READ MORE: Quebec education minister says he ‘never proposed’ moving Galileo Adult Education Centre

The board argues it doesn’t have any other options due to legal constraints.

The law requires an 18-month consultation period for an elementary or high school to be handed over, but the overcrowded Pointe-de-l’île school board needs the space by this fall.

EMSB vice-chair Joe Ortona explained that for an adult centre to close, the consultation period is only 30 days.

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Ortona said that while the EMSB understands the French-language board’s need for space, it wants to come up with a legal solution.

Ortona fears that if the board doesn’t come up with the name of a school to hand over, the minister could do what was done to Riverdale High School and just make the choice himself.

Discussions between the two boards and the minister are scheduled for Friday. A final vote on whether to transfer Galileo to Pointe-de-l’île will be held at the EMSB on May 21.

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— With files from Global’s Elysia Bryan-Baynes and Kalina Laframboise