Francophone school needed, says Riverview Town Council

A push for a Francophone school in the Town of Riverview.

Town Councillors voted in favour of sending a letter of support to the provincial government for a K to 8 school.

“We had a great meeting with some of the leaders from the Francophone school district. Staff and I had the chance to sit down and talk to them about some of their capital priorities, and we know that Riverview is on their list. They are looking at a K to 8 school for this municipality. We have over 300 students who are being bused to École Saint-Bernadette right now. So there’s a huge need in Riverview to have better access to Francophone education, just with students who are already being bused, let alone students who might want access to that, but aren’t because it’s not readily available to them,” Mayor Andrew Leblanc explained to Town Council.

A draft letter is to be sent to the Education Minister, also requesting a meeting.

Councillor Heath Johnson was delighted with this news. He read the motion aloud, “I move that Riverview Town Council agree to submit an advocacy letter to the provincial government requesting funding for the construction of a French-language kindergarten to grade 8 school with integrated early learning and child care facilities in Riverview.”

He also stated that he has been an advocate of a French school for Riverview for five years.

“Back in 2020, Ernst & Young did a study that showed there was a critical need for a K-8 school in Riverview due to both the demands in this community as well as the impacts across the region. I know when we were looking at our economic development strategy, we said having good medical care and education in town was critical to be able to attract residents here, and that enables our community to grow. So this is foundational for the growth of our community.”

The motion received unanimous support from the Town Council.

Town staff were also expected to attend a meeting earlier this week to get more information on the path forward to a Francophone school for Riverview.