Thread by @pattibacchus

🧵re some new @VSB39 shenanigans that have a school community understandably up in arms. #vanpoli #vanre #bced

1. The VSB sent Ideal Mini School parents a letter yesterday telling them the school has to move to Churchill Secondary, since Laurier Elem is bursting at the seams. But wait, Laurier had an annex to accommodate more students but it was CLOSED in 2017 and leased out.

2. Anyone who knows about the Ideal program understands that putting it in a very large high school will change so much about why it works for many students, who don’t thrive in a large environment. But let’s go back and ask why Laurier Annex was closed?

3.parents and folks like me have questioned VSB mgt claims it doesn’t need all its schools (hello @PacQea), like Queen Elizabeth Annex, and won’t in the future. Yet here we are, with Laurier out of space just years after govt-appointed trustee @DianneMTurner closed its annex.

4. It would make sense for the @VSB39 to move Laurier students to Laurier Annex, but instead the @VSB39 has decided to close Ideal Mini School without any kind of due process and relocate it to Churchill.

5. Adding insult to injury, students have to apply for this over 50-year-old program and "commit" to it for five years, yet they were not even consulted about such an abrupt decision that will destroy so much of why they applied for the Ideal Mini in the first place.

6. I've heard from parents and students, saying they're "blindsided", "devastated", "disrespected" and "frustrated", which is completely understandable. This is not how the @VSB39 used to operate and it should not operate like this now. Totally unacceptable @victoriajungvan

7. Recent moves at the @VSB39 (like prohibiting public attendance at budget and standing committee meetings) since @Vote4ABC gained control of the board, shock even jaded old ex-VSB chairs like me. It's truly outrageous and undemocratic. @reddyforchange @janetrfraser @hemremmem

8. I hope @IdealMini parents and students rally and pressure the @VSB39 to reverse this decision and consider re-opening Laurier Annex to Laurier student overflow, and leave the Ideal Mini Program where it is and where it has thrived for so long.

9. I also hope this is a wake-up call to the elected @VSB39 trustees that "disposing" of the QEA annex now could become a BIG problem a lot sooner than they may expect, despite what the same managers who pushed to close Laurier Annex tell them. #vanpoli

10. In my day at the @VSB39, transparency and accountability were priorities. What's happened since then? Barriers to public access have gone up and major decisions like this are made without any consultation with those who will be affected. @RachnaSinghNDP

11. Groups like @VanDPAC and individuals like its former chair @vikkhanna have done a great job of questioning some of the @VSB39 enrolment projections, (which the Min of Ed doesn't even agree with.) The trustees need to start asking hard questions too.

12.Given the Laurier Annex lease should be up this year, the solution is to take it back for @VSB39 use, but it will take some political courage. Do you have it @Vote4ABC? I guess we'll find out soon. But probably not soon enough for parents like this one

https://twitter.com/misspands/status/1646630898341928961?s=20

13. I agree with @misspands 100 per cent. The @VSB39 has not followed its own processes in making this appalling decision. The trustees need to step in and do the right thing. Are you up for it @victoriajungvan @PreetiFaridkot @RichardsonYVR @janetrfraser @fishtron

14. cc: @Kehyslop @CBCStephenQuinn @CBCGloria @simisara980 @DavidCarrigg @CanadianPress @xiaoxuyvr @TravisPrasad @tracysherlock @emcsheff @ehnewspaper

15. From the Ideal Mini School PAC letter to @VSB39 trustees