Proposed Vancouver school closures draw protest

About 100 parents and students rallied in East Vancouver Monday in a bid to save three schools facing possible closure.

Collingwood Neighbourhood School, Graham Bruce Elementary and Sir Guy Carleton Elementary are on a list of 12 schools that could close in 2011 because of budget shortfalls.

"This school is not just a school," said one parent at the gathering outside Sir Guy Carleton. "It's a landmark. It's the heart of this community, and we need to keep it."

The Vancouver School Board is facing an $18-million deficit and said in June that school closures could be one way to help balance the books.

School board staff will present new information within the next several weeks about the proposed closures, said board chair Patti Bacchus, who attended Monday's rally.

"We're waiting for a staff report we're expecting at the end of September [or] early October that will have much greater detail than was available in June," said Bacchus.

"I'm expecting there'll be a recommendation, as well, to maybe take some of the schools off the list."

The province is not doing enough to keep schools open, said rally participant Adrian Dix,  B.C. NDP MLA for the local riding.

"There are real challenges and demands facing our public schools today," Dix said. "And clearly, with all the cuts to services, it can't be said the province is funding education adequately."

Last spring, the school board and B.C.'s education minister engaged in highly publicized dispute over the Vancouver board's spending priorities after the board demanded more funding.

The province then appointed a special advisor to review the board's budget. The advisor concluded that the board could find more than $5 million in savings by closing and consolidating some schools.