Vancouver parents organize rally to save land from school closure, development

Parents rallied at City Hall to protest the rezoning of one school’s basketball courts and the closure of another, saying kids are already squeezed for space.

Parents stood outside Vancouver City Hall Tuesday calling on the city to pause the rezoning of Sir Sandford Fleming Elementary School’s basketball courts.

The rally was organized by Melanie Cheng, the chair of the Vancouver District Parent Advisory (DPAC), which represents parents in the school district.

“On one hand, the city is densifying our city and on the other hand, the VSB is downsizing school sites,” said Cheng.

The City of Vancouver released a report recommending a rezoning application that would allow the courts to be developed into a six-storey apartment building. The land was leased to Vittori Developments in 2024. Seventeen of the units are reserved as below-market rentals for school district staff.

Also an issue is the permanent closure of Sir Guy Carleton Elementary near Kingsway and Joyce Street.

“It’s a school that is in a growing area, transit-oriented development, there are six, 30-plus-storey towers planned blocks away from the school community.”

Since the building’s closure after a fire in 2016, the classrooms have set empty at a cost of $65,000 a year.

Parents, including Indu Bhagat, say their kids are unable to attend their catchment school due to overcrowding.

“It’s not easy for a parent to send their kids to two different schools,” said Bhagat. “We have, as a family, seen emotional stress on our kids. They just want to be together, right? As simple as that. They don’t see the ground reality, they just want to be together.”

The motion to rezone Fleming Elementary School’s basketball courts is scheduled to go before city council on Thursday.

Cheng pointed to the City of Vancouver’s report, which relied on enrolment projections from 2020. The data projected a decline in enrolment and stated the school would be at 76 per cent of its capacity by 2031.

She said recent figures from June state otherwise, with Fleming’s enrolment reaching 418 students by 2031, exceeding the school’s capacity.

“The VSB’s data, which is dated June 16, 2025, clearly shows that there’s going to be a significant increase in youth populations in the future, and I’m incredibly concerned about the lack of planning,” said Cheng.

CTV News reached out to Mayor Ken Sim’s office for an interview request, but he declined comment due to the motion being before council this week.

Suzie Mah, a VSB Trustee with COPE, says parents have a right to be concerned.

“The City of Vancouver should be working with the Vancouver School Board in terms of creating more community spaces and public spaces and utilizing some of that land,” Mah said.

Online public consultations on Carleton Elementary’s future are open until the end of November on VSB’s website.

“I would have liked to see town halls. I would have liked to see translations. It’s only available in English,” said Mah.

The final vote from trustees is expected later this year.