The NPA’s Christopher Richardson resigned as chair of the Vancouver School Board Monday for what he said was the good of the board.
A new chairperson will be elected June 24.
“As we’re moving forward at this complex time, we’ve got the budget to finalize, we’ve got the seismic submission to make by the end of June, that for the best of the board moving forward, which has been the most important thing that a trustee can look out for, that I should step aside and allow them how they want to move forward in terms of governance,” Richardson told the Courier Tuesday morning. He will remain a trustee.
Green Party of Vancouver vice chairperson Janet Fraser assumed the role of interim chair.
Vision Vancouver trustee Patti Bacchus, a former board chair, said she respects Richardson’s decision to resign.
“There have been a number of incidents that have been challenging that I would say he made the right decision, but it’s up to him to really explain why he did it,” Bacchus said. “It doesn’t surprise me and I think it’s appropriate given what has occurred.”
Bacchus wouldn’t specify what she was referring to.
“Some of this is in public, some of this is not in public and there have been some recent incidents that I would assume had an impact,” she said. “It was my opinion he needed to take this step, but it was a step he decided. I have not discussed it with him.”
Richardson didn’t shed light on the incidents to which Bacchus referred.
“I’m not at liberty as a trustee to confirm or deny anything that may have occurred or didn’t occur in camera,” he said. “I just thought it in the best interest of the board, for the good governance of the board, that my stepping aside would be the right thing to do.”
Richardson said some would speculate he’d had a “rough ride” with the Ministry of Education appointing a special adviser after the board had contracted PricewaterhouseCoopers to complete a review of the VSB.
He also referred to the sharp reaction he received from councillors when he spoke June 11 at a hearing about the city’s proposal to regulate illegal marijuana dispensaries.
The Courier reported online June 12 that Richardson irritated Vision Vancouver city councillors and trustees when he recommended on behalf of the VSB that the city increase the distance between licensed marijuana stores and schools from the proposed 300 metres to 500 metres, stick to its proposed ban on the sale of marijuana-infused goods, and direct a portion of licensing fees towards preventative education for youth. Those recommendations had been discussed at VSB committees but Bacchus believed those recommendations were only to be forwarded to the city in written form, were devised by a committee that didn’t include Vision Vancouver representation and weren’t approved by the whole board.
Bacchus was also upset the ministry briefed Richardson on the special adviser’s report on the evening of June 8, while other trustees had to wait to learn about it through the media release June 9.
Bacchus told the Courier in December Richardson offered her the vice-chair position on the board and a committee chair position, both of which she declined in favour of a stronger advocacy role.
Nine trustees form the Vancouver School Board: four from the NPA, four from Vision Vancouver and the one Green.
Fraser is considering whether she wants to be chair.
“I was a definite no when I was first elected and now, I’m not sure,” she told the Courier. “I’ve been in the job for six months and I’ve seen Christopher in the role as chair and I’ve learned a lot about the way the board works and part of that is seeing how hard it is to be chair.”
Bacchus, who served as chair for six years, said she isn’t sure whether she wants to resume that role.
“There are pros and cons and I would have to talk to my caucus about where we see we can be most effective,” she said. “I certainly have enjoyed being out of the chair. The last six months [have] given me a little more freedom in terms of being able to speak out in terms of advocacy towards government and that has been helpful… What is best for the district needs to be the next question. We have some huge challenges coming up and we need to really think through what that’s going to take in terms of leadership in the chair to navigate the next steps.”
The Ministry of Education released its special adviser’s review of VSB finances, asset management, administration and governance June 9. The report includes 52 findings and 59 recommendations for potential changes that EY, formerly Ernst and Young, says could save the board $250 to $750 million in one-time savings and $72 million in annual savings. The report suggests with 10,000 empty seats, the district could close up to 19 schools. A Vision Vancouver motion to extend a moratorium on school closures until December 2018 was defeated by the four NPA and lone Green trustee in January.
The school board is finalizing its facilities plan for the end of the month. Richardson said it’s working on a seismic submission and the board must submit a report that demonstrates the board considered the recommendations in EY’s report prior to adopting the 2015-2016 budget.
“We already had an extremely busy June ahead of us, so this is really going to make a busy end of the year for the school board,” Fraser said.
The June 24 meeting starts at 5 p.m. at 1580 West Broadway.
— with files from Mike Howell
@Cheryl_Rossi
This story has been modified since it was first posted.
