Thank you for including me in your email regarding the long-overdue need for new UHill schools. As you may be aware, the Vancouver School Board was scheduled to approve a Capital Project By-Law last night based on the Ministry‚s previous indications of approval in principle to enter into a capital project agreement for the new schools at UBC.
In a phone call with ministry staff on Friday, February 13, our senior staff were advised that we could not proceed with the By-Law approval. The reasons given were unclear and our Secretary Treasurer and Superintendent have followed this up with several calls to determine the status of the project‚s approval. I was advised on Friday that there may be a problem and that staff were working through the weekend to find a resolution.
Following further conversations with the Deputy Minister and Assistant Deputy Minister, trustees were advised prior to last night‚s meeting that we could not proceed with the bylaw approval.
It is my understanding that the school district has completed all of its requirements for this project‚s approval and we are now awaiting further direction from the Ministry.
We are deeply concerned about this situation and are requesting an immediate status update from the Education Minister and we have directed our Superintendent to continue to work with the Deputy Minister (James Gorman) to move the project forward.
The UHill schools are a top priority for this board and we are working hard to get the schools approved. I appreciate the support of the UHill community in conveying the message that this is an urgent situation that needs to be addressed.
Thank you again for your message.
Sincerely,
Patti Bacchus
Chairperson, Vancouver Board of Education
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