Drummondville English elementary school needs new building, says school board

The Eastern Townships School Board is askingthe government for a new building for the DrummondvilleEnglish elementary school, which has long faced overcrowding problems.

The school is already slated for expansion, but the school board says that won't meet the needs of the growing student body.

It's the only English-language elementary school in Drummondville andregistration numbers continue to riseyear after year.

Mike Murray, the chairman of the school board, told CBC's Quebec AM thatthe existing school is overcrowded.

"It's really not suitable for a school in today's age of highly focused pedagogy," said Murray.

The provincial government agreed to hand down $6 million for an expansion in June 2018, a project that has been in discussion for about five years.

But Murray said they are still pushing for a whole new building.

"We were very grateful to receive the authorization to go ahead with an expansion, but we saw all the flaws," Murray said.

The school was considered ineligible for a new building by the Education Ministry because it is not short four classrooms, and does not have a minimum wait list of 125 students.

But Murray said it would be "foolhardy"to wait for that to happen considering the school's rate of growth.

Drummondville Elementary has almost tripled its number of students in the last 20 years, and registration is up about 20 per cent since 2012.

Murray said it has consistently exceeded Education Ministry estimates for growth.

Specialists are often forced to meet with students in the hallways and stairwells because there is insufficient space, and students eat at their desks because there is no cafeteria.

The chairman said the school lacks properaccess for students and staff with disabilities, the buses delay traffic in the residential neighbourhood, and an expansion on the existing school would diminish playground and yard space.

He said the timeline is vague on when the board could hear back from the ministry about a new school, but in the meantime expansion plans are moving forward.

The school board is also in talks with the municipality to scope out potential sites for a new school building.