A city council meeting in Repentigny Monday night turned ugly as citizens shouted down their mayor.
They’re upset because the mayor appears to be supporting a plan by the French school board in the area.
They want to take over land that belongs to Repentigny’s only English school to build a new French school.
Franklin Hill Elementary School has been planning to use the land to build a soccer field, a track and an outdoor classroom.
Parents say there's a real need for that infrastructure at the school, which presently has 500 students and is growing fast.
But it turns out the French school board wants that same piece of land so they can build a new French school.
Mayor Chantal Deschamps seems to support the idea, and so concerned parents packed the city council meeting to ask her why.
All she would say is there's no more space left to build on apart from Franklin Hill’s land.
When the mayor refused to answer specific questions, the discussion got heated, at times degenerating into a shouting match.
For concerned citizens, it was a frustrating night and they left with no answers.
“We asked clear questions, we needed to get answers (and) she didn't give us any answers she just gave us the history,” said Anne Chamandy who attended the meeting.
“We know that (the mayor is) lobbying with the (French school board). She said she's neutral but that’s not the case because there was a picture in the paper of her with her fellow elected officials in front of our school saying we need to build a French school here.”
The mayor did invite those concerned to meet with the both school boards to help find solutions.
“I'm not very happy with what's going on here. I feel like a second class citizen,” said parent Anna Caruso.
Sylvie Wheatley also attended the meeting and says the mayor hasn’t been straightforward about her intentions.
“She is saying (the city is) not responsible for any decisions, but yet she's lobbying with the French school board to the government to get our land,” she said.
Ultimately, the decision will lie with Education Minister Yves Bolduc, who is expected to make an announcement about the future of the land in September.
