B.C. fires Victoria School Board over ban on police in schools

British Columbia’s education minister has fired the entire Victoria School Board in a dispute over a safety plan in which the board barred police from schools except in emergencies.

Minister Lisa Beare said student safety was at risk in the district and she had appointed a lone trustee to oversee the district until the next municipal elections, set for the fall of 2026. 

“Our government has given this board multiple opportunities to act, and they have not delivered,” Beare said in a statement. 

She said the appointment was effective immediately, clearing the way for the completion of a safety plan for the district. 

“The decision to remove an elected board is a difficult one, but it is necessary to bring our collective focus in School District 61 back to where it belongs, supporting students,” she said of the Victoria district. 

Patti Bacchus, a former trustee for the Vancouver School Board, says the decision is “completely uncalled for,” and she doesn’t like the government interfering with democratically elected bodies.

“I think this was an unfortunate decision from a rookie minister that I had hoped for better from,” Bacchus told 1130 NewsRadio.

She says the decision stands in stark contrast to the events of a similar mass firing of Vancouver School Board trustees in 2016.

“I really wonder if this would have happened if John Horgan was still the premier,” said Bacchus. “I don’t think he would have agreed with a decision like this. I’m very disappointed to see that the current iteration of the NDP has gone this route.”

Bacchus says it reflects poorly on the province to leave a whole city without elected representation governing its schools.

“They are being taxed, and they are paying for schools, but they’re being left without representation at the board table, and they are not able to now participate in decision-making the way they would with elected representatives. And I think it’s a lot of hubris to deny a city their elected representation.”

Sherri Bell, former president of Camosun College and superintendent of schools in Victoria, has been appointed as the trustee to replace the board.

Police have not been permitted at Victoria schools except in special circumstances since 2023, and the board said it based its decision to ban officers on reports that some students and teachers — particularly those who are Indigenous or people of colour — did not feel safe with officers in schools.

Beare announced the appointment of a special adviser in December to help the board “revise and improve” a safety plan. 

She said then that it was evident there was a breakdown between the board and community agencies and rights holders. 

Beare said in her statement issued Thursday that there was evidence the board did not assist the special adviser, demonstrated significant governance issues and failed to collaborate with partners in the development of a safety plan.

—With files from Srushti Gangdev.