The Eastern Townships School Board will receive a $3.3 million infrastructure grant from Quebec’s ministry of education this year, money allotted to finance a variety of upgrades and maintenance projects across the board.

The money comes from a new provincial infrastructure grant aimed to stimulate a sluggish economy, called the Résorption du déficit d’entretien. Funding will cover window and door replacements, roof resurfacing, and other general maintenance upgrades, many of which have been on hold due to financial constraints.
However, seeing all the work completed before the end of this school year could be a challenge, said the chair of the board’s council of commissioners, Michael Murray.
“So far we’ve been accorded enough money that we’ve been advised we may have trouble finding contractors to complete the work in a timely fashion,” Murray said.
This marks the first time the board has received all the funding requested in a specific area, Murray added.
These funding announcements are over and above the school board’s budgeted capital
expenditures for the 2008-2009 school year.
 New finance director
The school board welcomed its new director of finance at Tuesday’s council of commissioners meeting.André Turcotte will fill the post previously held by Julie Boivin. Turcotte left a similar position with the Beauce-Etchemin school board.
No change
There will be no changes to the criteria for enrolment in ETSB schools for the 2009-10 year.
Potential students must still provide a certificate of eligibility to have access to an English school, but with a declining enrolment across the board, there is little competition for entry into the board’s schools.
 “We do not have a situation where our enrolment exceeds capacity in our schools,” said Gilles Ribaux, the board’s director of pedagogical services.
There have been minor modifications to the criteria, Ribaux said, in years where the population at certain schools is at maximum.
 Mark it on your calendar
Due to the provincial election, December 8th is a pedagogical day and there are no classes at ETSB schools. Daycares in the board’s elementary schools, however, remain open that day.
On December 10th, Richmond Regional High School will be celebrating its recent ranking as one of the most improved secondary schools in the province. In the Report Card on Quebec’s Secondary Schools: 2008 Edition, released earlier this year by conservative think-tank the Fraser Institute, the school placed 17th overall.

By Sarah Rogers
Magog

Thursday, November 27