“Incomprehensible, disgusting, shameful”: parents of students at Villa Sainte-Marcelline, a private school in Westmount, are outraged by the dismissal of the religious congregation that owns the building, which is demanding 12 million for its redemption, otherwise the establishment will have to close next year.
Due to a lack of agreement between the religious congregation and the “future committee” set up to ensure the sustainability of this school, founded in 1959 and where approximately 500 girls study in primary and secondary school, its days seem numbered.
On its website, the general management of the Villa claims to have recently presented a “final” offer to the congregation to renew the school’s lease for a period of three years, with an option to purchase the buildings, in order to to extend school activities there.
Financial difficulties
According to documents seen by The Pressthis offer put forward a sum of 2.8 million to extend the lease until 2026 and an additional 2 million to ensure the turnover of the establishment in the following years
But the congregation turned her down. “Unfortunately, the insolvency of the institution, the inability for the Congregation to continue to absorb the deficits generated by the Villa, and the various current issues related to the dynamism of the establishment have not yet enabled us to find a buyer. solid or realistic offers for our buildings”, indicated the president of the board of directors of the Villa and regional delegate of the Congregation, Sister Marielle Dion, in an email sent to The Press Tuesday.
Engineering reports commissioned by Les Soeurs de Sainte-Marcelline and whose The Press mentioned last October showed “that approximately 12 to 16 million dollars must be invested to ensure the compliance and modernity of buildings”.
A “roller coaster” of emotions
For many parents of students, it’s a shock. The Villa could close for good as soon as June 2024 after the congregation reconsidered and agreed to finally extend the lease for a final year.
“It’s incomprehensible, disgusting, shameful, it’s a total mess. Most other congregations […] who owned the buildings donated them to civil society,” underlines the mother of two young girls who attend the establishment, Nakin Plaski.
The latter says she has to live with the “misunderstanding” of her oldest daughter, who frequents the Villa.
“A lot, a lot of tears since October, between parents, students and teachers. It’s very sad,” says Nakin Plaski.
“I can’t explain it to myself. I don’t understand why we put a school like this in jeopardy, knowing that there are solutions. Why are we not able to meet halfway on the solutions? “, laments Catherine Lafontaine, whose two daughters attend the Villa.
“Are the teachers going to leave? »
After having experienced as a “shock” the announcement of the non-renewal of the school lease, in October, Catherine Lafontaine recounts the “roller coaster” of emotions for her daughters following the comings and goings of the last few months.
All parents consulted by The Press are already planning to send their daughters to other schools in Montreal, for lack of another solution. They have until May 31 to renew their registration at the Villa, otherwise they will have to pay a penalty if they then decide to withdraw their child from the establishment.
“The big fear, if we stay another year, is: will the teachers leave? Will there be 10% students in the school? We don’t want long funerals for our children,” explains Nakin Plaski.