A group of passionate parents staged a rally outside Vancouver City Hall on Tuesday, united in their mission to ensure adequate school spaces amidst new housing developments.
Organized by Build Schools Now, the rally aimed to pressure the city, Vancouver School Board (VSB), and the province to prioritize maintaining school lands. The urgency was palpable, with concerns that the VSB’s plan to lease part of the Sir Sandford Fleming Elementary School property could exacerbate the existing space crunch.
Heman Mehta, the PAC chair at Sir Sandford Fleming Elementary, expressed the pressing issue, highlighting the school’s current overcrowding situation with 422 students in a facility designed for only 398. The potential loss of more space could mean no room for future portables, jeopardizing playgrounds and green areas.
Mehta emphasized the impact on future generations, lamenting the potential disappearance of recreational spaces. The fencing off of basketball courts during the subdivision process has already restricted outdoor activities, leaving children with limited areas to play and resulting in safety concerns.
Build Schools Now underlined that the challenges faced by Sir Sandford Fleming are not isolated, citing similar issues at other elementary schools on Vancouver’s east side. The disparity in treatment between east side schools and those on the west side was a point of contention, with Mehta attributing it to differences in parental advocacy capacities.
Despite collecting over 900 petition signatures against the proposed rezoning at Sir Sandford Fleming, the VSB defended its decision, emphasizing the need to balance school infrastructure with population growth. The board stated that after a thorough public engagement and land disposition process, a lease for rental housing development was approved, with provincial endorsement.
As the rezoning application now lies with the city, Mehta and concerned parents are gearing up to voice their objections directly to the council during a public hearing scheduled for Thursday at City Hall.