Well, that didn't take long. And really, not too unexpected. Within months of being elected, the majority ABC/NPA Trustees on the Vancouver School Board are already contemplating hiving off school board land and either leasing it or selling it to private entities. In a news report, CTV News Vancouver explains the 'Vancouver School Board is looking to sell or lease school property that is currently part of Graham Bruce Elementary School'. It seems the ABC/NPA thinks there is too much land for kids to play on at that location.
Not only is this ridiculous (can kids really have too much play space?), but it is also bad public policy. Public land is held in trust by this and past generations for the future. Once public land is sold, it is almost impossible to ever get it back. Cost alone would prohibit it, not to mention the lack of available land in a dense urban community like Vancouver.
Recent Boards have considered selling off lands like Kingsgate Mall, and parts of John Oliver Secondary, but enough public pushback silenced those proposals at least temporarily. The Chair of the Board says that selling isn't on the table at the moment, but you know even if this is a trial balloon, the idea has already been set.
Even if it were true, that Bruce has too much play space, why wouldn't the VSB share it with the Park Board and make it a public space open to all? It isn't like there is too much park space in East Van!
When I was with the Vancouver Greens, we had a policy of no net loss of green space for parks, and no selling of land for schools. So far the Van Greens have been silent. I sincerely hope there has not been a change of policy from them. I cannot imagine that One City or COPE would contemplate this. Even with the Greens onside, the ABC/NPA majority could move ahead with this if they chose. This is why local politics matter, and why who you vote for makes a difference. There was no suggestion of this policy in the ABC platform, but once in power, one never knows what a party will do.
Once it is gone, it is gone. We owe it to the children of today and tomorrow to preserve public lands. Short-term monetary gain is as ephemeral as the wind. Here one moment, gone the next.
Tell your Vancouver School Trustees that selling public land is a bad idea.
