Quebec’s education minister Jean-François Roberge has chosen three English Montreal School Board (EMSB) schools for the board to hand over to the Commission scolaire de la Pointe-de-l’île.
This just a day after he said the EMSB had until the end of the month to choose a school.
The schools the ministry could be seizing from the EMSB are Gerald McShane Elementary, General Vanier Elementary, John Paul I Junior High School.
The move would be effective for the 2019-2020 academic year.
The letter, dated May 8, was addressed to EMSB chair Angela Mancini and gives no option to the board. It only asks that it presents observations on the transfer of properties by June 10.
The minister informed the board he is considering invoking article 477.1.1 of Quebec’s Education Act.
The section reads: “On the recommendation of the Minister, the Government may, if it considers it advisable in the public interest and so as to foster effective and efficient management of the immovables belonging to school boards, order that the ownership of an immovable belonging to a school board be transferred to another school board so that the latter school board may establish an educational institution. Such a transfer shall take effect on the date determined by the Government.”
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“This is extremely disappointing and extremely frustrating,” said Joe Ortona, the EMSB vice-chair. “Clearly he wanted us to hand over a building all along and now he’s turned around in less than 24 hours.”
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Francis Bouchard, a spokesperson for Quebec’s Education Minister told Global News they wouldn’t be commenting on the news. Bouchard said the letter wasn’t supposed to be made public on Thursday and added the ministry specifically asked for parents and staff to be informed before anyone else.
“We are extremely disappointed with the EMSB’s ways,” Bouchard wrote in a statement to Global News. “We find this to be a flagrant lack of respect towards parents and staff.”
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For its part, the EMSB published a statement on its website, saying it is “shocked and disappointed over the potential loss of three schools.”
The EMSB offered to transfer a building housing the Galileo Adult Education Centre, which is home to more than 140 students with special needs. After the plan was met with protest, the minister said it wasn’t an option.
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In the letter, the ministry mentions sharing the centre.
Regardless, the EMSB had scheduled public consultations for May 16 and was set to make a decision on Galileo May 21.
The EMSB has contended 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.
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The EMSB says only an adult education centre can be transferred to meet the September deadline.
–With files from Global’s Kalina Laframboise and Phil Carpenter
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