P.E.I. premier promises upgrades for École Évangéline

The community in the Evangeline region of P.E.I. could see improvements to the local French school in the coming years.

Premier Dennis King said his government is committed to either replacing or renovating the aging École Évangéline.

"It's a beautiful school and quite a bit outdated obviously and in need of some love," King said Wednesday. 

King first spoke about the school while attending World Acadian Congress festivities in New Brunswick over the weekend. 

'A very old school'

Improvements for École Évangéline have been a priority for the French Language School Board for a couple of years now.

The school is nearly 60 years old, and according to the school board chair, the age is showing. 

"There's some leaking problems, the temperature might be very cold and very warm, and some spaces are needed to be completely renovated. The washrooms and the gym and things like that," said Gilles Benoit. 

"It's a very old school that has to be at least renovated." 

Benoit said he was very happy to hear King's promise. Benoit estimated that renovations or replacement of the school would cost between $15 and $20 million. 

Next steps

There is a community centre connected to the school, and King hopes some of the costs could be covered by the federal government. 

King said the project is a priority for his government. 

"The local committee is to bring forward some options as to whether it's a complete new build, whether we can renovate parts of the school, whether we can utilize aspects of it, so that's where it's at in the next step," King said. 

Benoit said the building will be evaluated in the coming weeks. He expects it will take a couple of years before construction begins. 

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