1. Why can’t you re-open Carleton Elementary?

   Sir Guy Carleton Elementary was severely damaged by a fire in 2016 and has not been used as a school since. The school has deteriorated substantially since 2016. VSB would need to receive major capital funding from the provincial government to restore Carleton. There has been no funding provided by the provincial government to restore the buildings because current and projected enrolment in the area can be accommodated at nearby schools.

2. What is the current state of the Carleton site?

   The large masonry building, the large wood frame building and the gym building are unoccupied and unsuitable for safe use. They have not been occupied since 2016 and have deteriorated significantly. These buildings are considered a high risk during a seismic event. Two smaller buildings on the south portion of the site are currently leased to Green Thumb Theatre. If the Board decides to close the school, the existing lease will remain in effect.

3. How much would it cost to restore and seismically upgrade Carleton?

   Between 2017 and 2019 there were attempts by VSB to secure funding for restoration and seismic upgrade. Funding was not provided by the province. In 2019, the cost estimate for a restoration and seismic upgrade of Carleton was approximately $36 million. However, costs have increased significantly since 2019 and it is reasonable to assume this has doubled based on cost estimates for current projects of a similar size and complexity.

4. What happened to the Carleton catchment? Where will elementary students who live near Carleton attend school?

   After public consultation and subsequent decision by the Board in January 2023, the Carleton catchment boundaries were adjusted to include the footprint of the school site itself. All residences in the former Carleton catchment are already part of the Cunningham, Weir and Maccorkindale catchments.

5. What will happen to the current tenant in two of the smaller buildings on the site?

   VSB staff have met with Green Thumb Theatre, the tenant of the two smaller buildings, regarding the consideration for closure process. We will continue to keep them informed as we proceed with the closure consideration process. If the Board decides to close the school, the existing lease will remain in effect.

6. What happened to items that were originally in the Carleton Buildings?

   A lot of the furniture and other contents originally in the Carleton buildings were damaged or destroyed in the fire. VSB staff salvaged as many archival items as possible. These items are currently in storage.

7. How is earthquake risk measured for school buildings?

   The province works with the  Engineers and Geoscientists BC  (EGBC) to assess seismic risks to public schools. Professional engineers assess the risk of damage to a building in the event of an earthquake and apply a seismic risk rating. This rating is the foundation for making decisions about how to mitigate risk in a school building. The Seismic Mitigation Program (SMP) led by the province classifies schools into three high risk categories: H1, H2, H3, with H1 being the highest risk.

Closure process:

1. If the Board votes in favour of closing Carleton, what will happen to the land? Will you sell or lease the property?

   No decision has been made about the school closure. Before the Board can consider the sale or lease (disposal) of a site it must first make the decision about the proposed school closure. If the Board decides to close the school, it would then be able to consider disposal of the site. This is a separate process as per  Board Policy 20 - Disposal of land or improvements .

2. Is there any interest in purchasing the site or sub-dividing it?

   There is no active application for the sub-division of the Carleton site.

   In January 2024, Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique (CSF) made a request to VSB to acquire the Carleton school site. CSF would use the school site for a new secondary school for Francophone rights holders in the area.

   The Board has not yet made any closure or disposal decisions regarding the Carleton site. Alternative uses for the site can only be considered after a closure decision is made.

3. Have you addressed all considerations in Policy 14 – School Closure?

   Policy 14 states that a variety of factors should be considered, where applicable, when making a recommendation for school closure.

   For the Carleton consideration for closure process, the District has assessed and considered all factors outlined in Policy 14. See  page 26  of the June 7, 2023 Facilities and Planning Committee agenda. Further factors considered by staff in proposing the consideration of closure recommendation can be found on  page 63  of the November 5, 2025 Facilities and Planning Committee agenda.

4. Who is CSF and why have they expressed interest in the Carleton site?

   CSF is a unique school district in British Columbia that provides French-first language education to students across the province. CSF is not geographically bound, has schools throughout the province, and serves Francophone students province-wide, ensuring access to education in French for those with rights under Section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

   In January 2024, Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique (CSF) made a request to VSB to acquire the Carleton school site. CSF would use the school site for a new secondary school for Francophone rights holders in the area.

   On May 23, 2025, the British Columbia Supreme Court, in Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique v British Columbia and Vancouver School Board, 2025 BCSC 962, declared that:

   In addressing the [CSF]’s requests for underutilized or surplus sites and facilities, the [Vancouver School Board] must reasonably consider and proportionately balance the importance of minority language education as a value underpinning section 23 of the Charter.

   The VSB will consider the following information provided by the Conseil on July 9, 2024:

   Sir Guy Carleton Elementary School

   The Conseil has an immediate need for a site for a second secondary school in Vancouver to deliver constitutionally guaranteed educational services.

   École secondaire Jules Verne (“Jules Verne”) is the only secondary school located in Vancouver and serves students residing in Vancouver, Richmond, parts of Burnaby and New Westminster. It was built to accommodate 350 students. In the 2023-24 school year, 527 students are enrolled. To accommodate the additional students, the Conseil has divided the woodworking shop to create additional classrooms (eliminating its ability to offer a woodworking course). Students at Jules Verne are accommodated in portables on the school site (that were meant to serve École Rose-des-Vents elementary students) and use classroom space in the École Rose-des-Vents elementary school facility. The Conseil also leases the basement of the 7th Day Adventist Church to provide additional classroom space.

   Further, enrolment at Jules Verne is depressed by the long travel times experienced by most students who attend. The vast majority of section 23 parents living in the Jules Verne catchment area live much closer to an English-language secondary school. A secondary school on the Guy Carleton Elementary School site would be far more accessible to many of those families – such that the Conseil’s secondary enrolment numbers would increase.

   Once École Rose-des-Vents is relocated, Jules Verne will take over the entire site. However, the site will still be inferior to VBE sites as it is significantly smaller than all VBE secondary sites and there is no sports field.

Enrolment 

1. Will Carleton be needed to address future enrolment growth in the neighbourhood?

   The Carleton catchment has no students enrolled. On January 30, 2023, the Board approved adjusting the Carleton catchment to include only the site footprint. Students living in the area are now a part of other school catchments. Current VSB student enrolment in the area, and both short- and long-term future enrolment projections, indicate that there is sufficient capacity to accommodate students. Carleton is not required to meet VSB student enrolment needs.

2. How does VSB determine a school’s operating capacity?

   The operating capacity of an elementary school is the number of students that can be enrolled in a school based on the physical space available and collective agreement requirements related to how many students can be enrolled in each class (i.e. class size and class composition).

3. Why does VSB use different sources for enrolment projections?

   The District uses sources that look at both short and long-term enrolment projections to inform planning for individual catchments and broader areas.

   As an example, our Baragar Plus Local Knowledge model (projections currently to 2039) combines demographic data with local development potential and enrolment assumptions. Models like this better align with the significant changes in recent housing initiatives. Metro Vancouver projections (to 2053) are longer term estimates and are often used for infrastructure planning. Long-term projections have a greater level of uncertainty due to unforeseeable future events and changes.

   More information about enrolment forecast methodologies can be found in VSB’s  June 2025 Enrolment Update Report .

4. Do VSB enrolment projections account for residential development?

   Yes, our enrolment projection methodologies (Baragar + Local Knowledge) consider enrolment trends and available information on future residential developments, including both citywide development policy and specific development enabled around transit areas and within neighbourhood plans. Enrolment projections anticipate relatively stable overall enrolment in the schools in this area over the next 10 to 15 years, with new residential growth offsetting some of the anticipated declines.

5. Why was my child not given a spot at the school we applied for even though that school had available capacity and was not designated a full school?

   Physical space available is not the only factor that needs to be considered when determining if there is space available to enrol a new student.

   VSB follows collective agreement requirements that specify class enrolment limits according to grade level and student designations. There are also minimum student numbers required to form a new class and hire a teacher.

   At the kindergarten level, our collective agreements require that only kindergarten level students be enrolled in the class (no combined kindergarten and grade 1 classes are permitted) and that the maximum number of students is 20 in each class. In some cases this maximum is reduced due to the composition of students in the class.

   For example, at a school where there are 40 kindergarten spaces available, and there are 41 students enrolling in kindergarten, one of the kindergarten students will be redirected to another school. There is no viable way to use any available grade 1 space to accommodate this additional kindergarten student.

   When enrolling students in a school, we prioritize catchment students, followed by cross-boundary applicants. Kindergarten applicants who apply during the priority registration window may meet the criteria for sibling priority. Our cross-boundary process also has provision for sibling priority.