The English Montreal School Board has inaugurated a new gym and classrooms at one of its high schools.
The EMSB spent more than $4 million in renovations at Vincent Massey Collegiate in Rosemount.
Quebecers can expect more announcements such as this one with the news that the provincial government is investing $1.2 billion in education over the next three years.
The bulk of that funding is going toward maintenance and infrastructure, such as new gymnasiums and classrooms.
The money for the gym and four new classrooms was committed years ago, but Angela Mancini, the chair of the EMSB, expects her board will have new projects developed in the next few years.
"This has really been the efforts of many, many years of governing board parents, staff, and the school board working together and bringing the needs of this community forward. It's been wonderful and we are so happy to finally have our gym," she said.
But Jean-Francois Lisee, the local PQ MNA, is not impressed with the government's renewed focus on education.
"They can't say it's a priority. If it had been a priority they would have taken a billion dollars somewhere and say, 'School is a priority,'" he said.
Mancini said she always approved of governments spending on education, but is waiting to see funding details.
"I applaud the government. Of course it's a first start. There's lots to be done, but certainly we need to invest in education if we're going to further our society. It's the way in which we go further as a total Quebec population. So it's wonderful to see that, but it's a first step," said Mancini.
The same is true across town at the Lester B Pearson School Board. Chair Suanne Stein Day said the real details won’t be known until the end of April, but she would have preferred more money for program spending and special needs students.
“For instance, they're giving a million dollars for early literacy. At most, Lester B Pearson, the largest English school board in the province, our share would be $25,000 for 37 elementary schools. What am I supposed to do with that? That’s less than half a person here,” she said.
The preference, Stein Day said, is for a system where boards receive a budget and goals and are then left to spend the money according to their own specific needs.
While Vincent Massey now has a new facility, many schools in Quebec are in poor shape.
A recent report indicated 500 schools in the province are in poor condition, with several buildings belonging to the Commission Scolaire de Montreal in terrible condition.
