The population of western Montérégie is exploding, so much so that the Trois-Lacs School Service Center (CSSTL) has had to relocate students from special programs so others can stay in their neighborhoods. A situation that is not without dissatisfaction.
Posted at 5:00 am
Marie-Eve Morasse The press
In Pincourt, on the Île Perrot, the Chêne-Bleu secondary school is overcrowded: it has 600 too many students.
The number of students “is increasing, the living environment is no longer sufficient,” explains Alexandra Desrochers, spokeswoman for the CSSTL. Classes, she illustrates, must be given in the cafeteria. In this context, “the status quo was impossible,” she says.
Two new high schools will open next year in Saint-Zotique and Vaudreuil-Dorion. Since they each have space for 1,250 young people, the CSS “wants students to go to their neighborhood school as much as possible,” Ms. Desrochers continues.
As part of this reorganization, the service center has committed to transferring the physical education and arts courses from the Chêne-Bleu school to another school in Vaudreuil-Dorion, Cité-des-Jeunes, next year.
It found that more than half (56%) of the students in these programs “are from outside the sector and attend these programs voluntarily,” the school service center notes in a letter to parents.
“The students in the school’s other programs come from Île Perrot. As far as possible, we try to give priority to students who live closest to the school premises. For this reason we do not want to transfer these other students to other schools outside the island,” we also read.
The President of the Syndicat de l’enseignement des Seigneuries also notes that the number of students in the region is growing at a rapid pace.
“It’s not for nothing that we have two new secondary schools: the three secondary schools on our territory are overcrowded,” says Martine Dumas. In absolute terms, the construction of new schools is “good news,” she adds.
A decision that makes people unhappy
The decision of the school service center to relocate the courses in sports and art has aroused the displeasure of the parents.
“The program is in danger,” says Jean-Benoît Desjardins, whose son is studying sports.
We need to restart the process to get the accreditations to include the agents. It’s almost impossible to find a program of the same caliber running anywhere else.
Jean-Benoît Desjardins, parents of a sports student
He regrets the school service center’s lack of transparency and believes that the “short deadline” prevents parents from reacting. However, there are “nice solutions” to do justice to everyone, says Mr Desjardins.
The CSSTL ensures that their intent is to defer the programs, not put an end to them. “We believe in these programs,” says Alexandra Desrochers, spokeswoman for the CSSTL.
However, in a letter to parents, CSSTL concedes that “it is not possible to confirm [s’il] will receive recognition for the sports and arts study programs of the high school Cité-des-Jeunes.
Also in Lavall
Marie-Belle Ouellet is also outraged by the situation and regrets that students motivated by these special programs may have to drop out. “We have known for a long time that there are many young people [à l’école du Chêne-Bleu] said the mother.
An extension application for the Chêne-Bleu secondary school was submitted to the Ministry of Education in 2021 and 2022, but it is still under investigation by Quebec.
Population growth isn’t just affecting the high schools in this west Montreal suburb. In Laval, the school service center has committed to redefining its territory to be able to accommodate more than 4,000 students by the start of the next school year.
According to forecasts by the Ministry of Education, 733 more students will study in CSSTL secondary schools in the next school year than five years ago.