After years of “dreaming” about it, the population of Sainte-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier will finally be able to have their secondary school which will be able to accommodate more than 800 students by 2027.
“I’m so happy for our young people, they will be able to finish their high school here,” said Mayor Pierre Dolbec, who sees it as the realization of a “dream” for his municipality.
Every day, for several years now, parents have called on him to tell him of their concerns about their children’s transition to secondary school, he says.
The teenagers of Sainte-Catherine, who can currently study there until secondary two, are then “scattered” in the various surrounding schools, some of which are located more than 30 kilometers from their home.
Young people therefore have to spend two hours, sometimes even three, on the bus every day, which is “totally unacceptable,” says Mr. Dolbec.
Starting in 2027, these teenagers will be able to complete their secondary schooling close to home, in a new school with around 30 classes that will be located at the corner of Désiré-Juneau and Guy-Linteau streets.
The new building will be located behind the Explorateurs primary school, which will allow the youngest to also have access to sports facilities.
No cost estimate for this project is available at this time.
Several refusals
The director general of the school service center of the Capital, Pierre Lapointe, was also delighted with the realization of this project, which had been requested from the Ministry of Education since 2017.
This new school will also relieve the Roger-Comtois and Neuchâtel secondary schools, where modular units will have to be installed from the start of the school year to fill the lack of space by 2027.
The official announcement of this project was made on Tuesday afternoon in the presence of the Minister responsible for the Capitale-Nationale region, Geneviève Guilbault, along with the Minister of Cybersecurity and Digital, Éric Caire, also Member of Parliament for La Peltrie.
Sainte-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier has been experiencing a major demographic boom for several years. Between 2011 and 2020, its population has increased by 25%.
–
