P.E.I. government unveils plans for new elementary school in East Royalty

The Prince Edward Island government announced a plan to build a new school in Charlottetown next to Lucy Maud Montgomery Elementary, which has been bursting at the seams. 

P.E.I. Premier Rob Lantz and Education Minister Robin Croucher unveiled the design Tuesday. Croucher said the plans are similar to those of the new Sherwood Elementary School, which opened earlier this year.

He said the new East Royalty Elementary School will be more modern, and will hold around 650 students from the eastern end of Charlottetown and as far away as Stanhope, on the Island's North Shore. 

"We're building capacity in our schools, we're positioning ourselves for population growth," Croucher said.

"Making sure we have the space... and ready for the modern type of learning that occurs in our schools now."

Croucher said the new school will use solar and geothermal energy, and will include more welcoming classroom designs.

"If you go over to Sherwood Elementary School and take a walk through and just look at how big and bright and open that it is," he said. "It's... very inviting." 

While it's yet to be determined what specific areas students attending the new school will come from, Croucher said those decisions will be made based on population numbers.

Saving space in a growing community

Lantz said the school is being built on the same site as the L.M. Montgomery in order to save on space in the community.

The premier said the plan is similar to one in Stratford, where Glen Stewart Primary and the recently built elementary school sit next door to each other.

"If you look around this community, I mean just across the street, all of that housing was not here 10 years ago," he said.

"We've paid for that design, we've just adapted it for this specific site, so it cuts down a lot of the cost of that planning and design work."

Construction on the new school is expected to begin later this summer, with an anticipated end date of 2028.