The Vancouver School Board (VSB) has made a definitive decision regarding the fate of a long-vacant heritage school. Trustees voted this week to permanently close Sir Guy Carleton Elementary School, ending nearly a decade of uncertainty since the building was severely damaged by fire.
A Decade of Vacancy and Mounting Costs
The school, located on a six-acre site at Kingsway and Joyce Street, has been empty since an August 2016 blaze forced its closure. Over the subsequent ten years, the district has spent approximately $650,000 to maintain and secure the vacant premises, averaging about $65,000 annually. These funds were used for basic upkeep and protection against vandalism.
In a 6-3 vote held Wednesday night, the majority of trustees concluded that continuing to pour money into an empty building was no longer sustainable. Victoria Jung, chair of the board, framed the decision as a choice between resources for students and an empty structure. "I will be voting in favour of closing, because I put more value on students in schools than empty buildings," Jung stated prior to the vote.
Heritage Status and a Lack of Provincial Funding
Sir Guy Carleton Elementary is one of Vancouver's oldest educational institutions, having first opened its doors in 1896. It holds a place on the city's heritage register. The site comprises three buildings, all of which have sat unused since the fire.
A key factor in the closure decision was the repeated denial of provincial funding needed for repairs and essential seismic upgrades. Trustee Lois Chan-Pedley emphasized that there was "no viable pathway to reopen" the school given the province's stance. She noted that students displaced by the fire were successfully integrated into nearby elementary schools—Cunningham, MacCorkindale, and Weir—and that no students are currently waiting to return.
"Closure does not displace students," Chan-Pedley said. "It recognizes a reality that has existed for years."
Dissenting Voices and Future Community Needs
The decision was not unanimous. Three trustees—Suzie Mah, Preeti Faridkot, and Jennifer Reddy—voted against the motion. They argued that planned housing developments and densification in the Joyce-Collingwood neighbourhood necessitate keeping the school option open for future population growth.
Mah put forward a motion to delay the closure process to allow the board to renew its funding request to the provincial government. She questioned the logic of closing the school before exhausting all potential avenues for support. "If we decide to go ahead and close tonight, why would the government want to give us any money?" Mah asked. "Whatever we’re looking at this decision tonight is going to impact the community forever."
Despite these objections, the majority of the board determined that the significant annual maintenance costs could be better directed to support current students across the district. The permanent closure of Sir Guy Carleton Elementary marks the end of an era for the historic site, as the school board opts to allocate its finite resources toward active learning environments rather than a vacant property.
