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Many parents of school-aged children on the east side are breathing a little easier tonight.
A majority of Vancouver School Board trustees is recommending Britannia Secondary School be removed from a 12 school list of potential closures.
Chair Mike Lombardi says the main message was “something magical” was happening at Britannia and trustees want to build on that success.
“Things that were expressed in consultations indicated that there was something special going on at that school, it’s a model community school in all of North America, it’s a joint Vancouver Park Board – School Board model.”
He says with an aboriginal population of 30-40% and in a year of Truth and Reconciliation, it wasn’t a time to do anything at that school except “build it and grow it.”
Lombardi says the other eleven schools on the list – including Gladstone and AR Lord – will now proceed to the next level of community consultations.
The official VSB vote to take Britannia off the list happens today September 26th.
OFFICIAL VSB MEDIA RELEASE:
After reviewing staff reports with information about schools on the preliminary list to be considered for closure, members of VSB’s Joint Committee of Planning and Education (Committee II/III) have recommended the Board move forward with 11 out of 12 schools for consideration of closure.
The committee said issues around vulnerability and the need to fulfill VSB’s commitment to truth and reconciliation were reasons to recommend against the board considering Britannia Secondary for closure.
The joint committee is made up of trustees and stakeholder representatives, including employee groups and the District Parent Advisory Council (DPAC). As per VSB policy, schools that are to be considered for closure must first be placed on a preliminary list, communities given 60 days’ notice and staff must develop an overview report, along with a detailed report on each school. Those reports were presented to Committee II/III tonight. Its recommendation will go to the September 26 public board meeting, where trustees will decide whether any or all of the schools still on the list should be considered for closure.
If trustees decide to consider any school for closure, parents would receive two weeks’ notice before consultation with affected communities begins. Starting October 11, multiple opportunities for communication and feedback would commence, both online and in person, and continue into early November.
Feedback would be gathered and included in a report to Committee II/III on December 8. Trustees would vote on whether to proceed with any closures at the public Board meeting on December 12.
No school would be closed before June 30, 2017. If trustees decide to close a school, a committee made up of VSB staff, trustees and parents would be created to deal with implementation and support the community.
