NDG and Côte Saint-Luc playing tug of war for school

http://youtu.be/qsD6uYmMeZc

Last Wednesday’s English Montreal School Board meeting drew out droves of concerned parents from both sides of a controversial plan that would involve moving the high school section of the Royal Vale School from Notre-Dame-de-Grâce to Côte Saint-Luc.

Royal Vale is one of 20 schools in the EMSB in danger of either closing down, merging or relocating to another location. In this case, the EMSB proposed relocating the high school to the Giovanni Palatucci Facility (formerly home to Wagar High School) in Côte Saint-Luc. With its large and predominately English-speaking population, Côte Saint-Luc residents are claiming that their facilities are in excellent condition, and ready to accommodate the high school students.

NDG parents aren’t so sure. When RVS parents were polled about the proposal, 88 per cent of them responded against it.

“I would like to know how you as commissioners find it just and logical to continue the consultation process to move the secondary portion of Royal Vale when the outpouring of support and the obvious reaction of our parent and student body has been very clear that we are opposed,” said RVS parent Joanne Adler during question period.

They’re worried about a number of issues. Not only would they have to travel further than they already do to bring their kids to school, but the new facility in Côte Saint-Luc isn’t equipped to deal with the type of education Royal Vale currently offers. The school is unique in the sense that it operates under a special permit which allows it to offer an enriched math and science program to its students. Enrolment takes place exclusively by way of an entrance exam. There is also concern over the supposed presence of asbestos in the CSL facility.

So far, the EMSB has not given any information regarding the cost of this potential move, nor has it provided parents with a concrete reason why the move would take place. Parents at the board meeting were furious; they brandished homemade signs and yelled from behind a glass partition, aiming most of their quips at chairperson Angela Mancini.

Mancini was visibly overwhelmed by the barrage of questions during question period, and used most of her time trying to calm people down instead of directly answering them.

Earlier in the day, councillors for Côte-des-Neiges—Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Susan Clarke, Peter McQueen and Marvin Rotrand as well as borough mayor Michael Applebaum had joined Royal Vale parents in a march to the EMSB.

The school board has lost approximately 6,000 students in the past decade. Roughly a dozen schools have enrolments of 200 students or less.

Hearings will be held next month on a series of recommendations that the EMSB long-term planning committee has made to the commissioners. A vote will take place in January, and if the move is approved, it would likely take place during the 2012-13 academic year.