EMSB approves Willingdon annex, modular classrooms for Edinburgh

The English Montreal School Boardapproved measures to help ease overcrowding at two west-end elementary schools at its meeting Wednesday night a meeting that ran late into the evening as commissioners went on to approve a non-confidence vote directed at the chair.

WillingdonElementary, inNotre-Dame-de-Grce,will get space in the site of the former St. Ignatius of Loyola school, currently home to two alternative schools at the corner of Somerled and Coronation avenues.

Those schools, Focus and Outreach, will be relocated.

Willingdon students in grades five and six will be bused to the annex about two kilometres away.

Edinburgh Elementary, in Montreal West, will get four modular classrooms, which are separate from the main school building.

Many parents of Edinburgh students showed up at the meeting, waiting to hear the EMSB's vote. Parents wanted five modular classrooms, but they still applauded loudly when the board settled on four.

MichaelRodgerhas two sons atEdinburgh Schoolin Montreal West and he chairs its governing board. He told CBC that these new classrooms will certainly help as the school population has been dealing with serious space shortages.

The added modular rooms, he said, will mean "not having music on a stage while gym class is happening. Having our science teacher being able to go into a science room and be able to do science experiments in a science room. It is going to completely turn around how students will see science."

TheEMSBhas saidEdinburgh is at 127 per cent capacity andWillingdon90 per cent.

Board chairissues apology

Board chair Angela Mancini issued an apology following an ethics probe.

Mancini was found guilty of four ethics code breaches last year, following comments made in a private meeting in 2016.

Quebec's ethics commissionerordered Mancinito apologize to Ann Marie Matheson and Benot Duhme, the EMSB's director general and assistant director general.

"I would like to apologize, for the behaviour that they felt was inappropriate," she said.

"Certainly, that wasn't the intention, but it's not the emitter of message, but sometimes the receiver, who receives it, that we have to pay attention to. So, I would like to formally apologize to them, both Ms. Matheson, and [Mr.]Duheme."

Commission approves non-confidence vote

Commissioner Joe Ortona, who has been among those on the board criticizingMancini'sleadership,immediately said he would not accept the chair'sapology and he led a non-confidence vote which the board approved by a majority

The non-confidence vote, which is symbolic and will not unseatMancini, sparked a lengthy debate. The vote was called after midnight.

Thiscomes as the provincial government continues to investigate the EMSB.Education Minister Jean-Franois Roberge said last month thathis ministry will undertakean"exhaustive"probe into "troubling and serious allegations" aboutirregularities in the awarding of contracts related to vocational training.