P.E.I. government budgets $8.8M for refurbishment of colevangline

As part of the government of P.E.I.'s capital budget released Friday, the provinceannounced$8.8million in funding towardthe refurbishment ofcolevangline.

The capital budget is the firstfrom thisProgressive Conservative government.

We're going to look at seeing if that's enough for renovations, which we don't think it is. Natacha Joncas, French Language School Board

colevanglineinAbram-Villageis one of three of the Island's older schools thatwill receive funding toward refurbishment over the next five years.Eliot Riverand Montague Consolidated schools will also be receiving funding.

"That's a beginning for us. We're going to look at seeing if that's enough for renovations, which we don't think it is because the report we received from the department is $10 millionjust to renovate the school and not change anything in the structure," saidNatacha Joncas, director general of the French Language School Board.

Joncas told CBCthe funding will be enough for the initial stage ofrefurbishment forcolevangline.

"It is just to begin the work and to look what needs to be done in the school. The school is the oldest school in P.E.I., on the francophoneside. The roof is leaking, the windows, there's probably asbestos, we don't know," she said.

While specific details are yet to be pinned down, the community is pleased to see the school included in the provincial capital budget, saidNick Arsenault, executive director of Conseilscolaire-communautairevangline, an organization that works to ensure the development of programs and services in French with a view to enhancing the vitality of the Acadian community, according to its website.

"The last couple of years we thought we submitted a good proposal and it would go through but other factors came into play. This time around we were pretty sure that it was our turn, so to speak," Arsenault said.

The community has been pushing for the refurbishment of the francophone school for the last decade, he said.

"It's very critical for a community that tries to live in French for the most part within an English province. It presents challenges that most other communities don't have," Aresnault said.

"The central focal point to ensure the survival of our community and of our language and our Acadian culture, is to make sure that this building, thecentre ducation vanglineis strong."

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