Hundreds protest possible East Van school closure
Posted October 25, 2010 10:19 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Holding signs reading “Carleton students want to be heard,” hundreds packed the gym at Windermere Secondary School in East Vancouver to protest the potential closure of Sir Guy Carleton elementary school.
This is the first of ten public consultations being held by the Vancouver School Board on the potential closure of five East Side schools.
Speaker after speaker urged the board to reconsider the closure plan. After each speaker, the crowd would chant “save our school, save our school!”
Ten-year-old Christian Garcia said he’d feel really sad because he grew up in the area. “I don’t want it to close down.”
Vanessa is a former student, and says most of her family attended Carleton at some point.” I graduated in 2002, my brother in 2007 and my sister in 1999. So, we’re hoping they don’t close it down, I still have friends that go there.”
Besides Sir Guy Carleton, the list includes Macdonald and Queen Alexandra elementary schools, along with Champlain Heights and McBride annexes.
Trustees say enrollment is down significantly in Vancouver, and they’re facing budget shortfalls for the next several years.
Carleton, part of which was built in 1896, is at 73 per cent capacity and closing the school would save the VSB almost $500,000 a year.
A decision on closures is expected in December.
The school board needs to trim more than $17 million from its 2010-11 budget.
