CORNWALL – The province has told the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario (CDSBEO) it will fund the purchase of the former General Vanier Secondary School from the public school board.
The CDSBEO announced Wednesday it had received confirmation from the Ministry of Education today (Jan. 31) for the financial backing to acquire the site, joined to St. Joseph’s Catholic Secondary School at 1500 Cumberland Street.
General Vanier Secondary School was closed nearly seven years ago as part of a UCDSB consolidation process.
No exact funding amounts were shared in a joint news release from the two school boards.
Under the proposal, it would allow the CDSBEO to house a new consolidated JK-6 Catholic school for Sacred Heart and St. Columban’s as well as grade 7 and 8 students from Bishop Macdonell and St. Anne.
The plan falls in line with the Catholic board’s Pupil Accommodation Review (PAR) process which happened last year.
School board trustees from both boards are applauding the move, though details still need to be worked out.
Cornwall trustee David McDonald said the boards are “well on our way to establishing an agreement in principle.”