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The Future of VSB Schools: Funding Schools During Declining and Uneven Enrollment

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The Future of VSB Schools: Funding Schools During Declining and Uneven Enrollment The future of VSB schools: funding schools during declining and uneven enrollment by Peter Lunka MSc, Bangor University, 2014 B.A., University of British Columbia, 2007 Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Public Policy in the School of Public Policy Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences © Peter Lunka 2019 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Spring 2019 Copyright in this work rests with the author. Please ensure that any reproduction or re-use is done in accordance with the relevant national copyright legislation. Approval Name: Peter Lunka Degree: Master of Public Policy Title: The future of VSB schools: funding schools during declining and uneven enrollment Examining Committee: Chair: Dominique Gross Professor, School of Public Policy, SFU Josh Gordon Senior Supervisor Assistant Professor Nancy Olewiler Supervisor Professor John Richards Internal Examiner Professor Date Defended/Approved: April 10, 2019 ii Ethics Statement iii Abstract In recent years the management of Vancouver School Board (VSB) schools has generated significant public and media attention. VSB district enrollment has declined significantly over the past 20 years while Vancouver’s population has increased. Further, enrollment has increased in areas of urban development creating planning challenges where there are too many students in some schools and too few elsewhere. The Province expects the VSB to effectively manage their enrollment and have prioritized seismic upgrades for schools with high enrollment. This has led to potential school closures, catchment boundary changes, and 43 schools are listed as future priorities for seismic upgrades. This capstone investigates solutions to the VSB’s uneven enrollment challenges and related capital funding shortfalls through a jurisdictional scan, interviews, and a mapping study using VSB enrollment data. A recommendation is made for the VSB to consult the public on partial land leases and implement School Site Acquisition Charges. Keywords: Capital funding; VSB; Leases; Enrollment; Seismic; Schools iv Acknowledgements I would like to thank the Vancouver School Board (VSB) for providing me with the cross boundary data and enrollment projections that made the mapping analysis possible. VSB staff graciously met with me multiple times and provided practical insights into the VSB’s operational challenges. I would also like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Josh Gordon, for his high level guidance on the project. I thank my wife, Megan Lievesley, for her nearly endless patience and feedback. Lastly, I thank my interviewees for committing time to this project and sharing their unique expertise. v Table of Contents Approval .......................................................................................................................... ii Ethics Statement ............................................................................................................ iii Abstract .......................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... v Table of Contents ........................................................................................................... vi List of Tables .................................................................................................................. ix List of Figures.................................................................................................................. x List of Acronyms ............................................................................................................. xi Glossary ........................................................................................................................ xii Executive Summary ...................................................................................................... xiii Chapter 1. Introduction .............................................................................................. 1 Chapter 2. Background .............................................................................................. 4 2.1. Education funding delivery ..................................................................................... 4 2.1.1. Role of Ministry of education .......................................................................... 4 2.1.2. Capital planning ............................................................................................. 5 2.1.3. Revenue generation ...................................................................................... 6 School Site Acquisition Charges .............................................................................. 6 2.1.4. Role of board of education and district school board...................................... 7 2.2. Uneven enrollment and urban growth .................................................................... 9 2.3. NDP-Green education funding ............................................................................. 13 2.3.1. Capital funding............................................................................................. 16 2.4. VSB catchment boundary review ......................................................................... 17 2.5. Disposition of school properties ........................................................................... 17 2.6. Summary ............................................................................................................. 19 Chapter 3. Methodology ........................................................................................... 20 3.1. Methodological justification .................................................................................. 20 3.2. Literature review .................................................................................................. 20 3.2.1. Jurisdictional scan ....................................................................................... 20 3.3. Funding review .................................................................................................... 21 3.4. Mapping study ..................................................................................................... 21 3.4.1. Cross boundary and international enrollment data ....................................... 25 3.5. Semi-structured interviews .................................................................................. 25 3.6. Policy analysis ..................................................................................................... 26 Chapter 4. Mapping Study ....................................................................................... 27 4.1. Mapping study background .................................................................................. 27 4.2. Results ................................................................................................................ 27 4.2.1. Four part criteria .......................................................................................... 33 4.3. Summary ............................................................................................................. 42 vi Chapter 5. Criteria for evaluation ............................................................................ 43 5.1. Building new schools ........................................................................................... 43 5.2. Reducing surplus seats ....................................................................................... 44 5.3. Balanced Enrollment ........................................................................................... 45 5.4. Government Objectives ....................................................................................... 46 5.4.1. Public/media acceptance ............................................................................. 46 5.4.2. Minimized cost to government ..................................................................... 46 5.4.3. Intergovernmental issues ............................................................................. 46 5.5. Summary Matrix .................................................................................................. 47 Chapter 6. Policy options and analysis .................................................................. 48 6.1. Option 1: Implement Catchment Boundary Changes ........................................... 48 6.1.1. Building new schools ................................................................................... 49 6.1.2. Reducing surplus seats ............................................................................... 49 6.1.3. Balanced enrollment .................................................................................... 49 6.1.4. Public/media acceptance ............................................................................. 50 6.1.5. Minimized cost to government ..................................................................... 50 6.1.6. Intergovernmental issues ............................................................................. 50 6.2. Option 2: Partial land leases ................................................................................ 51 6.2.1. Building new schools ................................................................................... 51 6.2.2. Reducing surplus seats ............................................................................... 53 6.2.3. Balanced
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