Vaudreuil parents rally over Lester B. Pearson zoning changes
Zoning change will see many Pierre Elliot Trudeau students transferred to school 18 km. away in Hudson
Vaudreuil parents say they will continue to fight a school zoning change under the Lester B. Pearson School Board after a meeting was held Wednesday night.
Under a new zoning change, students from at least 50 families would be transferred to Mount Pleasant Elementary School in Hudson, about 18 kilometres away.
Many parents argue that is too far and that it forces parents like Jane Peclar to look for alternatives outside of the English-language education system.
"We will have to go to the French school board just to have schools that are closer to our house," Peclar said.
The decision to change the zoning at Pierre Elliott Trudeau school was due to overcrowding at the Vaudreuil school, school board officials said.
"The government will never give us funding to expand the school or pay for a new school if there's other places within a 20-kilometre radius," said Suanne Stein Day, the head of the school board.
The families affected are those living north of Highway 40 in Vaudreuil, a zone the school board calls "Area 57."
The changes are due to go into effect next September.
Parents hope that their show of solidarity will inspire a change of heart at an upcoming school board meeting on Jan. 25.