Questions raised by the public regarding the proposed development of a Francophone secondary school next to École Notre-Dame des Vallées on Quigley Dr. have prompted a non-statutory public hearing scheduled for June 16.
The meeting follows a resolution passed by town council on April 14 to gather public feedback before considering the transfer of land to FrancoSud, pending provincial funding.
The gallery was full during that presentation. Councillors reported being inundated with letters both supporting and opposing the project when it was last discussed.
At that meeting, Coun. Marni Fedeyko said she met with about 25 West Valley residents who were upset over the lack of public consultation, despite the project being discussed for nearly two years.
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The Conseil scolaire FrancoSud is in urgent need of a secondary school for grades 7–12 students in the Cochrane area. The board initially approached town administration in late 2023 to identify a potential site.
École Notre-Dame des Vallées was originally built as a K–6 school with a capacity of 240 students but currently accommodates all FrancoSud students from kindergarten through grade 12 due to the lack of an alternative facility.
This situation creates challenges for grades 7–12 students, who lack access to appropriate secondary-level resources such as science labs, Career and Technology Studies (CTS) classrooms, and a full-sized gymnasium. Consequently, the school experiences a low retention rate for students transitioning from elementary to secondary levels.
Enrollment has grown at an average rate of 5.2% over the past six years and is expected to meet or exceed capacity by the 2027–28 school year.
June 16 is also a scheduled committee-of-the-whole meeting for town council. However, the hearing has been given priority. Council has agreed to reschedule or postpone other presentations that evening if necessary to avoid impacting the hearing.