Mike W. Bryant
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Jan 20/06) - Yellowknife's French school board is planning to build an $8 million extension to Ecole Allain St. Cyr.

Gerard Lavigne, superintendent of the Commission Scolaire Francophone, said the plan includes a gymnasium, six additional classrooms, labs, and a multi-purpose room.

"We just in the process of finalizing the educational plan now, and going into more detailed planning," said Lavigne.

The territorial and federal governments are still negotiating amongst themselves to determine how much each will contribute to pay for the expansion, said Lavigne.

Last year, parents of students attending the French language school won a temporary court injunction, ordering the territorial government to provide access to science and arts labs, two portable classrooms and the use of a gymnasium.

Lavigne said space at Allain St. Cyr is tight, and the school has no gymnasium of its own.

Students now use arts and science facilities at neighbouring William McDonald school. The government also pays to have them shuttled to the Multiplex for gym class.

Now that the Kindergarten to Grade 11 school expansion appears to be on the way, Lavigne said the commission hopes they can increase enrolment, which has dwindled to 88 students from more than a hundred.

"We know that there would be a substantially larger number of students potentially we could attract to the school," said Lavigne.

"We think the lack of comparable facilities to other schools does play a role in us not attracting all the students we could."

Extended the school will be difficult because the adjacent area is on a steep, rocky grade, said Lavigne.

An application to re-zone a several-hectare parcel of land beside the school is now before city council. The land is currently designated as nature preserve space. City council is entertaining a re-zoning request for land next to Ecole Allain St. Cyr to build a playground.

The request caused at least one city councillor to pause.

"I keep hearing this is sacrosanct land," said Coun. Doug Witty.

He was referring to other requests in the past to re-zone nature preserve land that was met with public outcry.

Other councillors said the didn't have a problem with the request.

Mayor Gord Van Tighem said "the previous one went through without any kicking and screaming," referring to another parcel of land next the school that has already received council approval for re-zoning.

The re-zoning request is up for its first council vote at City Hall next Monday.