From the “School Board Considers Long Range Facility Plan” By 250 News Wednesday, May 27, 2015 @ 9:40 AM: Regarding one of the Long Range Facility Plan recommendations: – to dispose of sites (land only) and closed schools (land and buildings) that are surplus to the current and future needs of the school district.

Posted on Wednesday, May 27, 2015 @ 2:49 PM by Sophic Sage
I think anyone who lives in an area where a school has been closed, and there have been more than twenty (20) of them closed in this school district, should be reminded of the Haldi Road School fiasco.

According to its long range facility plan, our school district will be selling more of it’s vacant schools, the question is; who will they be selling those closed schools to, and will the proposed use of those schools be compatible with residential living in those neighbourhoods?

IMO, the school district and the city should be meeting with neighbourhood residents where schools are closed, and are set to be sold. Have one or two residents, who would represent the interests of the neighbourhood, sit on a committee that reviews the sale and potential use of those schools.

Anyone from the School Board, or City Council, paying attention? You need to get “social license” from those neighbourhoods, because if you don’t… there will be hell to pay!

‘You need to get “social license” from those neighbourhoods, because if you don’t… there will be hell to pay!’

What do you mean exactly Sophie? Protests, pickets, civil disobedience, bomb threats?

Back it up with rational argument and some of us on this blog might actually listen to you.

In the meantime I offer:

All decisions made by someone other than me are bad. Ppppttthhhppp. I don’t like it and I’m not about to lift my passive-aggressive, shut-in finger to do anything about it because complaining is my source of entertainment in my retirement years.

Super Smart Sophic Sage: How would you solve this problem (show your work).

Concerned parents? Where? Two of them more interested in their smartphones, and four others are having quite a good chuckle.

VOR states; “What do you mean exactly Sophie? Protests, pickets, civil disobedience, bomb threats? Back it up with rational argument and some of us on this blog might actually listen to you.

I mentioned Haldi Road fiasco in my original comment for a reason; yes they protested, yes they picketed, no they did not perform acts of civil disobedience, not they did not deliver bomb threats… they did something better; they took the city to court and won!!!

www. 250news.com/2012/08/17/city-must-pay-costs-in-haldi-road-court-challenge/

Sure they eventually lost their fight, but guess who lost the next election?

The School District needs to be cognizant of the Haldi Road School fiasco, or there will be hell to pay if they decide to sell a closed school to an organization for a use or activity that just “does not fit” into the neighbourhood ‘s culture, climate and … ambiance? Neighbourhood social license is needed here.

Sophie:

Cut, paste, cut, paste, cut, paste, lather, rinse, repeat.

How about some rational argument Sophie?

Stupid comments like ‘The School District needs to be cognizant of the Haldi Road School fiasco, or there will be hell to pay’ need to be backed up by something.

Grrrrrr., if the sun comes up tomorrow there will be hell to pay.

Grrrrrr., if the pot-holes aren’t fixed to my satisfaction there will be hell to pay.

Grrrrr., if I don’t get what I want as an individual among millions of other individual BC residents there will be hell to pay.

It’s one thing to ring the alarm bell. It’s something quite different to know when the bell should be rung.

I agree with Sage, any vacant land and properties should have some community input on who is buying it for what use. It would be the right thing to do and I am sure there are community groups willing to add their input-Especially Blackburn and the old Junior High site. I hope you go to a meeting, Sage. Voice your concern. Or at least email the trustees with your thoughts.

VOR

So what do you feel an elementary school that used to act not only as a school which children could walk to relatively safely, but as a community centre. That entailed use of gymnasium, exterior tennis courts, library for city community neighbourhood meetings, potential facilities for community event rentals. The limits were only left to the imagination.

I often attended community planning meetings for park proposals, housing proposals, zoning proposals, OCP proposals. They were not held at City Hall or the Civic centre, but at the school closest to the areas affected.

We used to actually have the very thing that Mayor Hall is now artificially trying to return to – connection of City Hall with the local neighbourhoods.

Why? Simple! Because the City under the Green dictatorship did not believe in a transparent municipal government.

So, instead of making stupid comments, how about adding to the discussion a bit more positively by showing us your thinking capability for such use of public properties other than renting it or selling it to Northern Health, or WallMart warehouses, or detox centres, or anything that is incompatible with the OCP meetings.

We do not need bullying on this site. We need reasonable, civil debate with some original thinking coming forward.

By default, if no common agreement is reached with the neighbourhood, the SD should be responsible for tearing the building so that the site can be returned to the City from whence it came. The SD did not pay for those sites, they were simply part of a subdivision plan with the lot sales by the City paying for the lots that were bought by individuals and developers with the money paid by the final house purchaser which gave the school property to the SD.

By all rights, the SD should no gain from any sale. It should be the people who live in the neighbouhood and paid a portion of the cost of the property the school sits on.

“It’s something quite different to know when the bell should be rung.”

Guess what. That is an indiviual’s decision. Everyone is entitled to their view. You hassle someone fro expressing their view, it is called harassment and bullying. Simple as that.

VOR wrote: “All decisions made by someone other than me are bad.”

Seems to be like your thinking. What makes you so high and almighty that you think you are the only one who is given that license?

Give us a rational argument for that and maybe we can have a civil discussion of that notion.

Just a thought – instead of logging our civic parks with some vague idea of putting up a seniors’ residence (like was contemplated in College Heights not long ago), perhaps use a portion of these vacant land for building more seniors’ housing. At least some of this land that is not out in the more rural areas could be made useful again by increasing housing for people who would not need to use a school, which is already closed.

PS, VOR the person you are addressing as SophiE, is actually using a name of SophiC Sage. Please be so kind as to use the correct name when addressing another commenter.

Um, since when is it the landowners responsibility for future usage? If the School district can satisfy the Ministry requirement for selling surplus land (in the School Act, very specific requirements for disposal of surplus land). Is it not the purchaser that is required to obtain the correct land and permits etc…? And just for clarity, the district will keep 25% of the proceeds and the Ministry (which paid for the buildings and stuff on the ceded land)gets 75%. Is it the responsibility of the land owners in the VLA (just to use an example of granted land)or homestead grants to vet the sellers? Just saying…. Hopefully when I choose to sell my property, I will be able to sell to whom I choose, they can do as they please after they pay their money.

Wellll, for once, I absolutely agree with the comments offered by Sophic Sage. I really don’t know where VOR is coming from or going to!
Since a school property is a Public Property, usually involving public interest in the ongoing school life of that property, it is reasonable to expect a consultation process when that property is considered for school close-down and sale.
However, in the Haldi case, the sale of the property was from a private individual to another (group of) private individuals. So, could there be use controls? But it remained that considerable community investments in the case of manual labour that remained on the property that were no longer available for neighborhood use – that was one of the sore points.
Also in the Haldi case: Who promised what to whom?

Just another horrible example of the public commons being enclosed for private use and pleasure . Nothing new . The new Serfs will have no say in it . Just another ripoff of the public . The money should help crispy cluck build the ten lane bridge that will replace the Massey tunnel way down in 604ville . After all we won’t be able to get much out of the Natgas seeing as crispy just signed a twenty five year deal with a no new taxes for twenty five years . For them not us . And some say that Canadians aren’t as poor as they are stupid . PG you really should change your name to Harpervalley BC .

Ataloss – I believe you directed your criticism at the wrong group. If you’re going to use the term serfs, you need the correct context.

Serfs served nobility, who by birthright, owned the land and resources thereon and serfs got to work it, but never own it.

The only group of people who own land and resources by birthright, are First Nations. They are the new nobility, we are the new Serfs.

Wrong group really ? I wouldn’t agree . The fn are just as much at the mercy of the machine . For example I give you John Baird . He’s spent his whole adultish life in politics ( political royalty ) . Now he is going to collect millions of dollars from us tax payers in the form of one of the richest pensions in the land . Plus he now sits ( what he does best ) on the board of directors at Barrik gold , CPR and as of a few days ago Hatch corp. Sadly I don’t hold any of those companies that I could dump . If they can’t make it into the senate , there is alway Munk and Barrik gold as a cronie bin .