Francophone elementary school set for north end

Conseil des écoles fransaskoises (CÉF) welcomed the Saskatchewan government’s announcement that it will fund a new francophone elementary school in the Regina’s north end.

“We are very pleased to see that the Government of Saskatchewan has honoured the Memorandum of understanding signed on March 19, 2019, between Conseil des écoles fransaskoises (CÉF) and the Government of Saskatchewan,” Conseil scolaire fransaskois chair Alpha Barry said in a news release issued Tuesday. “Our school division will continue to work with the Province to ensure that all Fransaskois students have access to the resources and infrastructure they need to ensure their full development.”

For several years, the francophone school division has pressed for a new school to take some of the pressure off Ecole Monseigneur de Laval.

The new Regina facility is one of four new schools the government announced it will build as part of a $110.5-million plan to fund infrastructure projects for school divisions

The plans also includes a replacement for Ducharme Elementary School in La Loche, a Kindergarten to Grade 12 replacement for Blaine Lake Composite School and a Kindergarten to Grade 12 school in Lanigan.

The Lanigan school would consolidate the current elementary school and high school. Two Lloydminster high schools — Holy Rosary and Lloydminster Comprehensive — will also get renovations.

The province allocated $130 million for education infrastructure as part of its $7.5-billion plan to help Saskatchewan’s economy recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s awesome,” La Loche Mayor Robert St. Pierre said Tuesday. “We need good news.”

The northern village, located about 520 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon, has been one of the communities hit hardest by the pandemic, with more than 200 reported COVID-19 cases.

The infrastructure projects announced on Tuesday are in addition to seven new schools and three renovation projects announced in the budget last week.