Georgetown school replacement still planned despite recommendation for combined K-9 school

The province says its plans to replace Georgetown Elementary remain unchanged, despite a Public Schools Branch (PSB) report recommending a new combined kindergarten-to-Grade 9 school in Three Rivers.

The Montague Intermediate School study by Rob MacAdam looks at ways to address space shortages at Montague Intermediate and prepare for more students in the area.

One of the report’s recommendations is for the PSB to ask the province to approve a new K-9 school in Three Rivers.

The report suggests building the school near land the province bought off the AA MacDonald Highway for a new hospital and community health centre.

It also points to the province’s earlier plans to build a new school in Georgetown, saying combining two schools into one could serve students from Georgetown and the Three Rivers area.

In a statement to The Guardian, Education Minister Robin Croucher said he would wait until the PSB board of trustees finishes its review before commenting on the recommendation.

“As Minister, I look forward to the Public Schools Branch Board of Trustees completing its school review consultation process regarding Montague Intermediate and making a final recommendation to government,” Croucher said. “It is premature for me to comment prior to the completion of that process.”

Croucher said the province still plans to build a new school in Georgetown.

“There has been no change in government’s plans for Georgetown Elementary. A new school in Georgetown was announced in the 2024 Capital Budget and that project remains in the Department’s 5-year capital plan, with preliminary work underway,” he said.

According to the report, Georgetown Elementary currently has 78 students, although the school has room for 174.

The school serves students from kindergarten to Grade 8. Students then move to Montague Intermediate for Grade 9 before attending Montague Regional High School for Grade 10.

The report also looks at other options for Georgetown students, including allowing them to stay at Georgetown Elementary through Grade 9 or sending them to Montague Intermediate starting in Grade 7.

It says Georgetown Elementary has enough space to keep its Grade 9 students, although more staff would be needed.

The proposed K-9 school is one of three recommendations in the report.

The other two are to monitor student numbers at Montague Intermediate and add temporary classrooms when needed, and to build new shop and foods classrooms.

The Guardian contacted the PSB to ask which schools would be combined, whether Georgetown Elementary could close and how the recommendation would affect the province’s plans to replace the school.

The branch directed the questions to the chair of its board of trustees. Chair Andrew MacFarlane told The Guardian that the recommendation for a new K-9 school has nothing to do with the province’s plans to replace Georgetown Elementary.

“These are two completely separate instances,” MacFarlane told The Guardian.

He said the report is looking at ways to address space shortages at Montague Intermediate and prepare for future population growth in Three Rivers.

MacFarlane said the board has started a 30-day public consultation period to gather feedback on the report’s options and recommendations.

Once the consultation ends, the feedback will be reviewed and presented to the board, which will then vote on a final recommendation to send to the education minister.

He said another round of public consultation could be held if major changes are made to the recommendations.

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Vivian Ulinwa is a reporter for The Guardian in Prince Edward Island. She can be reached at vulinwa@postmedia.com and followed on X @vivian_ulinwa.