NPA trustees supported school closures, as did NPA council candidate Mike Klassen
(Vancouver) – Mayor Gregor Robertson was joined by Vision Vancouver and Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE) school board candidates in challenging Suzanne Anton and the Non-Partisan Association (NPA) to say whether, if elected, they will continue to vote to close city schools.
“Voters should know that Vancouver Board of Education trustees and candidates from two parties – Vision and COPE – can be trusted to keep local schools open for our kids,” Mayor Robertson said.
“In the last three years, NPA trustees have already voted against keeping five important community elementary schools open – abandoning students, parents, teachers and staff,” Robertson said. “And NPA council candidate Mike Klassen cheered on school closures instead of fighting to keep them open. Voting NPA is just too big a risk for people concerned about keeping our schools”
Last December, NPA trustees Ken Denike and Carol Gibson both voted against keeping open five schools in East Vancouver: Sir Guy Carleton School, Queen Alexandra Elementary School, Macdonald Elementary, Champlain Heights Annex and McBride Annex.
“If it were up to the NPA trustees, kids would have been watching their schools shut down forever,” said COPE Trustee Allen Blakey said. “Thank goodness a Vision Vancouver and COPE majority worked together to stop the NPA, and save our schools.”
Vancouver Board of Education trustee and Chair Patti Bacchus said Vision Vancouver and COPE heard from students and parents about how devastating neighbourhood school closures would be and took steps to keep them open.
“Vision and COPE trustees listened to our kids and our community – the NPA didn’t. That’s the important difference to remember in this election,” Bacchus said. “We want voters to know that voting NPA means voting for school closures.”
Vision Vancouver council candidate Tony Tang said he was shocked NPA council candidate Mike Klassen wrote last year that he supported closing schools.
“Why would someone who wants to represent all of our city be in favour of closing schools?” Tang asked. “Mike Klassen has already shown he doesn’t listen to Vancouver voters.”
COPE council candidate RJ Aquino said Klassen was supporting provincial underfunding of education instead of standing up for Vancouver.
“We need city councillors who will back up the Vision and COPE school trustees in keeping our schools open – not argue to shut them down,” Aquino said.
COPE and Vision Vancouver are running a cooperative full slate of candidates for the nine VBE trustee positions in the Vancouver municipal election on Saturday November 19.
New Vision candidates Cherie Payne and Rob Wynen are running with current Vision trustees Patti Bacchus, Ken Clement and Mike Lombardi. New COPE candidate Gwen Giesbrecht is running with COPE trustees Al Blakey, Jane Bouey and Allan Wong.
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