New CQSB boss Robert ‘cautiously optimistic’ about new HS project
New CQSB boss Robert ‘cautiously optimistic’ about new HS project
Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
peterblack@qctonline.com
“Cautiously optimistic,” is how Jean Robert, newly sworn-in chairperson of the Central Québec School Board (CQSB) Council of Commissioners, describes the board’s mood regarding approval of the new combined English high school project.
Robert was commenting on a report in the Journal de Québec last week saying only three new schools have been authorized to be built in the province next year. The report does not identify the three schools that got approved.
According to the Journal, the Quebec government has given the green light in 2025 to 28 projects, worth half a billion dollars, to add space to existing schools throughout the province.
The report said, “The budget dedicated to ‘adding space’ will mainly finance the acquisition of modular classrooms, since only three new constructions and four expansions have received approval from Quebec.” A spokesperson for Education Minister Bernard Drainville is quoted in the report, and does not deny the basic facts. Antoine de la Durantaye said, “We will continue to invest in order to meet the growing needs, while respecting our ability to pay.”
The QCT asked de la Durantaye via email whether the CQSB’s new high school was among the three schools approved for construction in 2025. Education ministry spokesperson Bryan St-Louis responded, saying, “The English secondary school project has already been announced. The process to obtain approval of the business case in accordance with the directive on the management of major public infrastructure projects is underway.”
Asked to clarify the statement, St-Louis said, “The business case must first be analyzed and authorized before confirming further details regarding the project.”
He said details on the project are available on the Treasury Board “dashboard” which indicates the project is managed by the Société québécoise des infrastructures (SQI) and has been at the planning stage since June 2022 and under study as of November 2019.
The “dashboard” description is this: “The project in- volves the construction of an English-language secondary school on the territory of the Central Québec School Board to replace the obsolete St. Patrick’s High School and Quebec High School secondary schools. Student places from Dollard-des-Ormeaux secondary school in Shannon will also be transferred to the new school. In order to reduce the space deficit recognized by the ministry, 183 additional student places are planned. This will bring the school’s capacity to 1,421 student places.”
On the SQI website, according to a document called “Tender calls to come” (appels d’offres à venir) and dated spring 2024, the CQSB school is slated for a call for tenders in the third quarter of 2024, and construction to be started in the first quarter of 2025.
The new English high school serving the greater Quebec City region is one of only five new school projects on the SQI list. The SQI manages large infrastructures in the province, with budgets of $50 million or more. The CQSB school is in the category of $150-$500 million.
Robert, who has succeeded longtime board boss Stephen Burke after many years as vice-chair, said that despite the “worrisome” report in the Journal, “We’ve been told we should continue to be optimistic” about the new school moving forward.
Robert said much has been invested already in the new school project, to be built on the site of the now-vacated St. Vincent Elementary School, including acquiring parcels
of land from the federal gov- ernment and a neighbouring school property.
This fall, CQSB opened New Liverpool Elementary School, its new school in Lévis, to accommodate a growing population of students on the South Shore who had travelled by bus to St. Vincent. Former students living on the North Shore were transferred to other board schools.
Robert said he will be meeting with government officials in the coming days to help ensure the project moves forward.
“We just want to get it started … get that first shovel in the earth,” he said.
In the event the new high school project is delayed, Robert said, “We’d have to invest so much in the existing schools,” both of which were built decades ago and do not meet modern standards.
The current St. Patrick’s High School building dates back to 1918 and was expanded in 1956. QHS opened in its current building in 1941.
Meanwhile, the demolition of St. Vincent is on hold. Robert explained that the plan is to tear down the old building at the same time as construction starts on the new one.
Robert said he is hopeful an announcement will be made soon on the new schools approved for 2025, possibly before Christmas.