Acadian school board calls for French high school on Halifax peninsula by September

Conseil scolaire acadien provincial, the only French school board in Nova Scotia, has approved a motion calling on the province to set up a new French-language high school on the Halifax peninsula.

There are currently 22 CSAP schools in the province, including seven in Halifax, accommodating about 6,000 students. There is a secondary school on Larry Uteck Boulevard, which is not on the peninsula.

École Secondaire Mosaïque in Dartmouth is the newest French-language high school in the Halifax Regional Municipality.

Since that school was announced many parents complained that it is too far and have removed their children from the French-language system after elementary and middle school to reduce travel.

The motion asks for an urban high school to be opened on the peninsula by this September. The school would not have its own gymnasium or library, but would make use of community resources, according to the motion.

Michelle Collette, the board's director general, said this would be considered a temporary measure. 

Reacting to the motion, parent Jean-Philippe Bourgeois, one of the parents who has been fighting for a high school on the peninsula for five years, described it as a victory for the community.

"Among the many possible options, the option of an urban school was feasible within the timeframe requested, in addition to meeting many conditions requested by the community," Bourgeois told Radio-Canada in an email.

"We will finally be able to have more certainty about what we are going to do with our children and be able to continue to build our community on the peninsula."

A spokesperson for the board said the next steps are up to the province.