The Western Quebec School Board (WQSB) has now received three important approvals needed to move forward with relocating students and staff from Onslow Elementary School to Shawville for the 2026-2027 school year while the Quyon school is renovated.
At separate meetings last week, governing boards of Onslow and McDowell elementary schools, as well as the Pontiac Continuing Education Centre gave a green light for the plans that would see Onslow move into the Continuing Education Centre’s (CEC) space behind McDowell, and the CEC move to its former building in Campbell’s Bay long-term.
At McDowell’s meeting on Nov. 26, the school board’s assistant director general Pascal Proulx explained that after discovering structural problems with Onslow’s floor, the board decided to do much needed renovations of the school that will see almost all of its interior upgraded, and an air conditioning system installed.
Because of the scale of the renovations, the school board has decided to do them over the course of a full school year rather than spread them out over several summers, displacing Onslow students and staff to their temporary home in Shawville for a year.
Proulx assured that once renovations are completed in Aug. 2027, Onslow students and staff will return to their home building. At this point the school board hopes to use the additional space at McDowell to begin more substantial renovations at that school, including installing an air conditioning system there as well.
“The idea is to use the wing that will be left empty to move some classrooms there and renovate the school section by section, to reduce interruptions to education,” Proulx explained.
The plans and budget for these renovations still need to be approved by the province’s Ministry of Education, but the board’s hope is to be able to begin the work in 2028.
Upgrades already approved for next summer at McDowell include renovating its second hallway, the first of which was completed last summer, renovating its roof, and upgrading its alarm system over the March break.
McDowell governing board members expressed relief to hear the school would finally be expanding, something parent member Natasha Beardsley said the board had been requesting for some time.
Proulx said the school’s population had been decreasing for many years, which is what led the board to move the CEC into one of its wings over a decade ago, but that since the COVID-19 pandemic, its population has been on the rise.
“So now we are in a situation where the school needs more space, but it wasn’t the case 15 years ago,” he said.
The only concern raised by the governing board at Wednesday’s meeting was around the logistics of the after school pick-up once it involves all the buses needed to transport McDowell students.
“To begin with, it’s chaotic, so if we add bussing for another school there . . . ” Beardsley said, noting the board already had concerns with student safety during the pick-up time without the presence of additional buses.
Proulx assured that Onslow and McDowell students would have separate bus pickup locations.
Other concerns expressed by Onslow and CEC governing boards include the logistics of transporting students to their new school locations, and what will happen to the daycare currently running out of Onslow.
The board will be working to sort out a new bussing configuration before a final consultation with its parent committee in January before the school board commissioners vote on the plans on Jan. 27.
