French school plans to turn one classroom into nine (2024)

The Ontario government is allocating $7 million to an elementary school in Hearst in the French public school board.

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Conseil scolaire public du Nord-Est de l’Ontario (CSPNE) is planning a multi-phased addition and renovation to École publique Passeport Jeunesse, which has been growing continuously since its opening more than 10 years ago.

The board used existing funds to plan the project, but the June 7 announcement gives them the boost they needed to invite construction companies to submit bids, with a view to begin construction in the summer of 2025, with an expected 2027 completion date.

“It gives us the confidence to go forward and go all the way to completing this project for the benefit of students and staff in the community of Hearst,” said Yves Laliberté, CSPNE director of education, in a June 11 interview with The Daily Press.

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The first phase of the project will turn an underused large room with high ceilings into eight or nine extra classrooms over two floors, resulting in 161 new student spaces.

The second phase will replace three portable classrooms, now in the schoolyard, with a permanent addition.

“We’re so happy with this news,” Laliberté said. “We’ve been asking for a number of years. As a young French board we’re still trying to catch up in terms of getting adequate, equitable facilities throughout our territory.”

Laliberté predicts they will not know final project costs until they go to tender. Planning that will take place over the fall and winter will likely result in further negotiations with the province to cover additional construction costs.

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As a francophone school, the CSPNE can also apply for federal funding through minority language rights streams.

Laliberté said the learning environment can promote student success and pride in Francophone culture and identity.

“This announcement is a confirmation of the trust that recognizes the dedication and commitment of the great CSPNE team over the past 25 years,” he said in a statement.

The project is part of $1.3 billion announced by the ministry of Education in April to support the construction and expansion of 60 schools across the province.

“I’m proud to be part of a government that is investing in the north,” said George Pirie, Member of Provincial Parliament for Timmins. “We want northern communities to grow and that means we have to invest in the infrastructure they need to thrive. Students deserve modern learning spaces and that’s exactly what this investment provides.”

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The overall investment, which the government says is the highest ever made in a single year, supports the creation of more than 27,000 new student spaces and more than 1,700 licensed child care spaces at schools across Ontario.

The government’s plan includes building faster, and providing school boards with more options to use existing buildings in their communities.

“These changes are part of the government’s plan to ensure that the public education system focuses on what matters most: important life-long skills such as reading, writing and math; improving accountability and transparency for parents and families; and maximizing capital assets,” read a statement released Friday from Pirie’s office.

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Minister of Infrastructure Kinga Surma took the long view.

“These are part of our historic investment of more than $190 billion over the next ten years to build and deliver the critical infrastructure Ontarians deserve today, and for future generations to come,” she said in a statement.

Denis Labelle, board chair, Conseil scolaire public du Nord-Est de l’Ontario said he hopes the government will continue to collaborate with the French public school board so French-speaking students can have access to the same quality of facilities as their English-speaking counterparts.

In December 2023, the Ministry of Education announced new measures aimed at cutting the average school construction timeline of 4-7 years by half. According to the ministry, the root cause is an obsolete capital process that has not been meaningfully overhauled since 2010-11.

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Measures include getting school boards to follow a more streamlined process to identify and dispose of unused property, generating more revenue to reinvest back in schools.

Another measure is to create schools in mixed-use buildings like condominiums and to make more use of existing buildings.

In the recent Capital Priorities round, school boards were encouraged to standardize the design of new school construction, identify opportunities to work together on joint-use school projects, and bring forward shovel-ready proposals.

In 2023-24, according to the statement from Pirie’s office, the ministry provided renewal funding of approximately $1.4 billion to school boards to revitalize and renew aged building systems and components. The same amount has been allocated for the 2024-25 school year.

The government has committed to providing about $16 billion to support new school construction, renewal and improvement over 10 years.

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