École Entre-lacs is a public school that inaugurated its homogeneous program in September 2004. The school offers a complete French-language education from kindergarten to grade 8. Secondary courses for students in grades 9 to 12 are taught at Penticton Secondary School.
Obtain a new kindergarten to grade 8 school on a site large enough to allow for enrolment growth.
According to the judge, francophone parents in Penticton have the right to a homogeneous school for their children with elementary (K-5) facilities that are substantively equivalent to those of the majority schools, but only to intermediate level (6-8) facilities that are “proportionate” to those of the majority. This right is not currently being respected in Penticton.
The implementation of section 23 of the Charter in Penticton will be supported by the order requiring the provincial government to establish a separate long-term funding envelope for the CSF’s capital projects, and by the order requiring the provincial government to help the CSF acquire sites to meet the CSF’s needs. The implementation of section 23 in Penticton may also be aided by the order for damages regarding the decade-long freeze of funding for the CSF’s transportation budget.
The CSF and the Fédération des parents francophones will ask that the Court of Appeal recognize that the Francophone community in Penticton has an immediate right to a homogeneous kindergarten to grade 8 school that is substantively equivalent (and not just “proportionate”) to the competing English-language schools.
The process for purchasing McNicoll Middle School is underway.