Vancouver School Board votes to keep Queen Elizabeth Annex open
Posted October 28, 2019 9:33 pm.
Last Updated October 28, 2019 10:52 pm.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — After heated discussion at the Vancouver School Board, Trustees have decided not to move forward with the closure of a French-immersion school Monday night.
Trustees were deciding on moving to a public consultation on the closure of Queen Elizabeth Annex, and sending students to another French-immersion program at École Jule Quesnel.
Trustee Barb Parrott opposed the closure, saying the province needs to do more to support French-speaking students.
The motion fails. That means the possible closure of Queen Elizabeth Annex will not be going ahead. @NEWS1130 https://t.co/s5VGIu7egZ
— Taran Parmar (@Tarankparmar) October 29, 2019
“It seems to me that the Minister of Education is passing the buck. The Ministry of Education needs to cooperate with the City of Vancouver and see if there are spaces they own [and] could build a school on,” she says.
Education Minister Rob Fleming weighed in, saying the closure of the Annex would allow him to build a long-awaited school in Olympic Village which would have utilized contributions from the VSB, Ministry of Education, and the City of Vancouver.
A statement from Mayor Kennedy Stewart was read during the meeting which also supported the public consultation because it would move the Olympic Village school forward. He said the consultation would bring more feedback and provide a future opportunity for child-care.
Now that the proposal has been defeated by the board, they will not be considering any further plans to close down the school.
The board has considered closing the school three times in the last decade.
