A Vancouver parent organization is urging parents to “push for change and stem the tide” now that the school district has named 12 schools that will be considered for closure.
The preliminary list, released Monday, features four annexes, six elementary schools and two secondary schools: Champlain Heights Annex, Tecumseh Annex, McBride Annex, Queen Elizabeth Annex, Dr. A.R. Lord, Admiral Seymour, Graham D. Bruce, Sir Guy Carleton, Queen Alexandra, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Britannia secondary and Gladstone secondary.
Queen Elizabeth Annex is the only school considered for closure on the West Side.
Andrea Sinclair, founder of the Parent Advisory Network for Public Education [PAN], told the Courier Tuesday that parents are “quite upset.”
“There are tears and the tears are just emotional watershed from ‘Oh my God, am I on the list?’ to ‘Oh my God, I’m on the list,’” she said.
PAN represents parents from more than 49 schools across the city and has several members with children at Tecumseh, Queen Alexandra and Gladstone.
“Parents are outraged all over the province. We’ve lost so much,” said Sinclair, pointing to other districts in B.C. that “have already faced the nasty closures.”
The release of the list of 12 Vancouver schools marks the first stage of the VSB’s school closure process.
If all 12 schools are approved for closure, the district will save about $8.8 million per year. However, zero could close, said board chairman Mike Lombardi Monday, as was the case with five East Side schools considered for closure in 2010. Trustees of the day opted not to shut those doors.
Schools considered for the latest list were chosen based on several factors outlined in the Long Range Facilities Plan (LRFP) such as the accommodation of students at neighbouring schools and the accommodation of future students within the catchment area, as well as school site considerations such as maintenance and operating costs.
The facilities plan is a roadmap to 2030 that includes directions on seismic upgrades and the goal for utilization capacities in VSB facilities. Approved in January, it’s a strategy reached by both the provincial government and the VSB, under former school board chairwoman Patti Bacchus. It states, Lombardi said, that VSB facilities need to meet a 95 per cent capacity target before seismic upgrades can be approved. “We will continue to fight for the elimination of 95 per cent utilization,” he said.
Education Minister Mike Bernier countered that point in a telephone news conference later Monday afternoon.
“I’ve always said [the 95 per cent] is a flexible target, a goal to work towards,” he said. “We have never said that you won’t get seismic funding until you meet that capacity.”
Bernier said the Ministry of Education has spent more than $200 million on seismic upgrading, despite schools not meeting 95 per cent. The VSB has completed 20 seismic upgrades, is currently working on five and has 61 schools in the district that still need to be seismically upgraded.
Bernier, meanwhile, maintains “the amalgamation offers Vancouver more, not less,” pointing out that schools with more students would lead to more sports and music programs.
In September, VSB staff will present trustees with an in-depth report, for review and consideration, about each school named on the list.
Trustees will decide which schools, if any, remain on the list Sept. 27.
Schools still considered for closure will be subject to a two-month community consultation process. A staff report summarizing the results will be presented to trustees in December. Trustees will decide whether or not to close one or more schools Dec. 12. Schools approved for closure could be closed as early as June 30 the following year.
Parents, meanwhile, are gearing up for a battle.
“Just because school ends, we’re not done yet,” said Sinclair of parents planning to fight the potential school closures.
More information about the preliminary school closures list can be found at engage.vsb.bc.ca.
Biancaschan95@gmail.com
@biancachan_
This story has been revised since first published.
