Vancouver schools in jeopardy

For many parents across the East Side of Vancouver, including Ann Wong, it’s been a difficult autumn. With a daughter and son attending Sir Guy Carleton elementary, the Wong family is at a crossroads. The Vancouver board of education has put the 114-year-old school in the Collingwood neighbourhood on a short list for possibly closure by the end of June. And she doesn’t know where her kids will go to school next year if trustees don’t listen to the pleas of parents like her to keep Carleton open.

“My daughter, who has been there since kindergarten, wants to graduate with her friends,” Wong told the Georgia Straight in an interview before the board of education’s public-consultation session at Windermere secondary school on October 25. “This is the only school she has ever known. Geographically, the closest school to us is [Dr. George M.] Weir, but that’s already at over-capacity.”

Wong, who chairs Carleton’s parent advisory council, was the first one to the microphone when the board of education and superintendent Steve Cardwell finally heard from parents, more than an hour after the meeting was scheduled to begin.

She told trustees that uncertainty about the school’s future was taking a toll on its nearly 400 students. “Children should only worry about how to solve a math problem or spell a word correctly or any other academically inclined matter—not a political one of their school closing,” Wong stated.

She added that she recognizes trustees are “between a rock and a hard place”. But she urged the board to expand activities at the school, suggesting that programs connected to Collingwood Neighbourhood House could be based at Carleton. As an example, she cited an arrangement that has allowed Green Thumb Theatre to use the school’s original building, which was damaged by a fire a couple of years ago. She claimed that some parents believe that the school’s closure is a “done deal—and these public meetings are just going through the motions”.

“At Carleton, our motto is: ”˜We care about our ourselves. We care about each other. And we care about this place’,” Wong declared to loud applause from more than 400 people who had gathered in the Windermere secondary gymnasium.

The following night, there was a similar meeting at Killarney secondary school to discuss the future of Champlain Heights Annex. The next night (October 27), it was Macdonald elementary parents’ turn to speak. Tonight (October 28), McBride Annex will be the focus of a public meeting at Sir Charles Tupper secondary school. The fifth school that might close, Queen Alexandra elementary, will be the subject of discussion on Monday (November 1) at Vancouver Technical secondary school.

The board of education has released a major report explaining how five elementary schools ended up on this short list for possible closure. In each case, two conditions applied: that students could be reasonably accommodated in other local schools; and that they could be provided with access to appropriate educational programs.

The report highlights the district’s overall enrollment and capacity—51,901 students and 60,343 spaces—suggesting there is surplus room in the system, particularly on the city’s East Side. There are also detailed breakdowns of enrollment, operating costs, supplemental programs, heritage status, seismic upgrading, and catchment information for the schools facing possible closure. In addition, the report mentions each school’s assessed value, as well as neighbourhood zoning information.

At the public meeting concerning Carleton’s future, Vancouver-Kingsway NDP MLA Adrian Dix questioned some of this data, claiming that the school board had misstated the school’s catchment area. He also contended that the board had not taken into account a major development of 800 homes planned for the corner of Kingsway and Boundary Road, which would supply more kids to Carleton in the future.

The board of education often emphasizes that it faces a shortfall of $9.6 million next year and another $5.7 million in 2012-13. The projected net annual savings from closing all five schools would only amount to $1.45 million, according to the board’s report. “They are puny savings,” Dix told the Straight. “We’re spending $600 million on a roof of a football stadium.”

NPA trustee Ken Denike explained to the Straight by phone that the board’s financial shortfall shouldn’t be attributed to surplus spaces in East Side elementary schools. He said the district is seeking provincial funding to build new schools where the school-age population is growing, such as downtown, UBC, and southeast Vancouver. “They [provincial officials] have made it quite clear in the past that if you want government capital funding in the areas where we need them, then you should be closing the schools in areas where you don’t need them,” Denike said. “That does make some sense.”

What hasn’t received nearly as much attention from parents, trustees, and the media, however, is what might happen to the five schools if they’re closed. The vice-chair of the board, Coalition of Progressive Electors trustee Jane Bouey, told the Straight that there isn’t a formal board policy on leasing public-school property to operators of independent or religious schools. The board voted in the past to lease the Shannon Park Annex to the Vancouver Hebrew Academy, which runs a school there. Meanwhile, the Satnam Education Society of B.C. runs its Khalsa school out of portables at the board’s South Hill Education Centre.

Bouey said she has dedicated much of her life to opposing the erosion of public education. She stated that she’s personally against the idea of leasing public schools to their independent counterparts. “One of the dangers that public education faces is privatization,” she said. “To have schools that are placed in the middle of communities being no longer in the public system”¦moves us a long way in the direction of the privatization of public education.”

Her view was echoed by fellow COPE trustee Al Blakey in an interview with the Straight before the public meeting on Carleton elementary’s future. “We haven’t as a board, nor have we in COPE, discussed that and come up with a point of view on it yet,” he said. “I’m inclined to say that I’m not keen on having private schools take over our schools.”

Blakey and the third COPE trustee, Allan Wong, each told the Straight that if schools must be closed, they would prefer that the properties be set aside for community uses. “Whether it be for child care or it be for senior citizens, it’s a public place,” Wong said. “All public facilities should be used for public good.”

The NPA’s Denike, on the other hand, said the board should consider leasing property to private schools whenever they’re not competing with the public system. He added, however, that these types of deals shouldn’t be a “high priority”.

Fred Herfst, executive director of the Vancouver-based Federation of Independent School Associations, told the Straight by phone that in some other districts, trustees have refused to sell or lease property under their control to independent schools. He said that his organization thinks it makes sense for boards of education to sign 99-year leases with independent schools, because these arrangements keep the property under public ownership, and the facilities are still being used for educational purposes.

Herfst noted that the provincial government saves money when students attend an independent school instead of a public one. That’s because taxpayer dollars cover no more than half the per-pupil operating cost of public schools in the area. The government covers none of the capital costs of independent schools.

In an interview with the Straight in a West Side coffee shop, board of education chair Patti Bacchus said she and her colleagues will have to consider this issue carefully. “If our job as trustees is to protect the interests of this district—if we’re feeling financial pressure in closing down sites—do we open it up for schools that will exacerbate that by drawing more of our populations, or do we look at the short-term benefit of the revenue?” she commented. “So it’s a tough one.”

In the past, Bacchus said, the district has been approached by parties interested in operating independent schools on public property. “We’ve even had a couple wanting to come into schools that are operating, and use a wing of them,” she acknowledged. “We’ve had some concerns about what that might look like and possible conflicts.”

When asked explicitly if she has discussed this issue with Herfst’s organization, the Catholic school board, or officials who operate the Khalsa school, she said she has not.

During her interview with the Straight, Bacchus outlined the impact that provincial decisions have had on the district’s finances. She accused the B.C. Liberal government of imposing $68 million in cumulative cuts since 2002-03. The province negotiates contracts with teachers and CUPE support staff, and, according to Bacchus, basically dictates class sizes through legislation. In addition, she said, the board has to cover the cost of rising provincial medical-services premiums, the expense of reporting carbon emissions, and increases to the teachers’ pension plan. And none of these three areas have been fully funded by the province, according to her.

Bacchus noted that the district also loses about $8,000 per student when enrollment falls. “Some schools have seen a 50-percent decline over 10 years,” she said. “I don’t think we can ignore that.”

According to Herfst, approximately 20 percent of Vancouver students attend independent schools. He suggested that this has remained stable for several years. “Vancouver has had a long history of having a fairly substantial component of Catholic schools,” he explained.

The board of education report highlights the real-estate potential of each of the schools on the closure list. Queen Alexandra, Macdonald, and Carleton are described has having “considerable redevelopment potential”. McBride Annex, on the other hand, has “limited” redevelopment options. Champlain Heights Annex could only be redeveloped within the parameters of the existing zoning.

So far, no trustees or administrators have offered parents like Ann Wong any insight into how much revenue the board of education could generate by leasing out these school properties. The most valuable one on the list, Carleton, sits on land near the busy intersection of Kingsway and Joyce Street, just up the road from a SkyTrain station. With an assessed value of $22.1 million, it would be a desirable location for anyone considering leasing the space for a new private school, a seniors’ residence, or even a shopping mall. (The board of education owns the land underneath the Kingsgate Mall.)

While school boards across the province are permitted to lease property, former education minister Margaret MacDiarmid told the Straight earlier this year that the B.C. government discourages the sale of school sites in heavily populated areas such as the Lower Mainland and the Okanagan. Bacchus said she agrees with this policy regarding school sites.

“There may be alternative uses for them that are public uses,” she noted. “Some of these buildings are not in good condition. They need major upgrades. That question we haven’t delved into greatly. We felt we have to do this one step at a time.”

She quickly added that if the board spent too much time looking at these schools’ potential for real-estate development, this would predetermine the outcome of public consultations. Bacchus emphasized that the board must go through the process with an open mind; otherwise, it could face a risk of lawsuits from people affected by the decisions.