It became clear last night that the decision on whether to build a French first language high school on the site of the new F.H. Collins Secondary School won't be an easy one.

An estimated 100 parents, teachers and students had the chance to share their thoughts with both the minister of Education and the Commission Scolaire Francophone du Yukon (CSFY), the French-language school board, at a public meeting at École Émilie-Tremblay last night.

"I went in there obviously with a mind to listen to the francophone community, and that's exactly what I was able to do,” minister Scott Kent told the Star this morning.

"There were definitely speakers that were on both sides of the issue, and I think it's the start of a good dialogue moving forward.”

Speakers were able to offer comments in their preferred language, and the vast majority did so in French.

Attendees who weren't fluent in either language were asked to find a "buddy.”

As comments, either for or against, were offered, bullets were added to pro and con lists displayed on projector screens.

Those in favour of moving the high school, L'Academie Parhelie, to the F.H. site, suggested it might give students more opportunities to participate in sports.

They would also have larger social circles and more course options, and a bigger school would better prepare students for post-secondary education, it was suggested.

Those against argued there could be a loss of the francophone culture or language, and that conflicts could arise attempting to share the site between the two schools.

Concern was also raised about how separating École Émilie-Tremblay and L'Academie Parhelie would affect the French school community.

A further comment was made that there isn't enough information about how the two schools would operate on a shared site to make a well-informed decision.

Kent noted this morning that discussions are still in the preliminary stages. There is no pressure on the CSFY to make a decision quickly, he added.

"What we'll do is look for a design that has some flexibility, so if a decision is made to proceed in this direction that the francophone school option is available to them,” he said.

Lorraine Taillefer, the executive director of CSFY, said this morning she was pleased with the large attendance at last night's meeting.

Many of the comments reinforced what the board had heard from students and staff already, she said.

"What came out clear to me was that the community doesn't want the board to rush through anything. They want the board to really look at different options and take their time going through that,” Taillefer said.

"A lot of people are not sure; they can see advantages of looking at the possibility of having a French school attached to an English school and they can see the disadvantages of that as well, and that's interesting.

"It's not black and white...there's a lot of grey areas. It's a complex issue.”

Taillefer noted that at least 10 people at the meeting came forward to join a committee to study the idea further.

Last night, Kent said he's pleased the CSFY is open to considering the option of moving the francophone school to the F.H. site, but he understands this is an emotional issue for many members of the francophone community.

"There are many complex considerations that need to be addressed prior to us making any decision,” he said last night, alternating between French and English.

"I would like to stress, of course, that no decisions have been made on this at all.”

Today the minister noted that one of the F.H. Collins school council co-chairs was in attendance at last night's meeting.

He plans to meet with the council to determine the best way to engage the F.H. school community in these discussions as well.

After bids for building the new F.H. Collins came in at almost $10 million over the government's planned $56-million budget for the project, the original design was discarded in favour of a campus-style complex.

See letter.