Minister Fleming Comments

Excerpt of May 6th Question Period Minister of Education Rob Fleming response to MLA Sam Sullivan

Read the full conversation here.

What I would say is that a lot of discussions that have been, let's say, fruitless over the last number of years around making a decision, for example, on Olympic Village will come into sharper view once the district has discharged a couple of its important responsibilities. One is a new LRFP, under the new guidelines that we've issued, and the other is the boundary catchment review.

But in terms of False Creek in general, I can tell the member that the number one priority we have right now in that neighbourhood is a project definition report that we've supported around a seismic upgrade of False Creek Elementary. We're reviewing that now. And just so he's aware, that'll be the nearest major investment that we make in the False Creek neighbourhood. Because as part of our life safety mandate, we need to make investments into seismic upgrades of schools like that.

Excerpt of July 3rd letter from Minister of Education Rob Fleming:

Read the full letter here.

The Province evaluates capital funding allocations to school districts based on prioritized requests in their Annual Capital Plan submissions. A District’s Annual Capital Plan submission identifies projects that are a priority to undertake within the district. The Vancouver School Board (VSB) identified a new school in the Olympic Village area in their Annual Five-Year Capital Plan submission as a high priority for expansion; however, student safety is the top priority for the Ministry.

While the Vancouver School District is experiencing enrolment growth in certain areas, it is experiencing stable or declining enrolment in other areas. Overall, enrolment is declining in Vancouver School District and is forecasted to continue to decline over the next ten years. The District has a large number of surplus seats with many schools operating below their intended capacities. For example, Florence Nightingale Elementary and Crosstown Elementary are operating well below capacity and are less than two kilometres from Olympic Village

Ultimately, boards, not the Ministry, have the autonomy to decide how best to address the needs of students within their local communities, and parents are encouraged to work with their local board of education to ensure the educational needs of their children are met. I encourage you to work with the Vancouver School Board as they are best able to answer any detailed questions you may have about the construction of new schools within the District.