James Whiteside Elementary School

The Richmond School Board is considering the permanent closure of a number of public schools, including James Whiteside Elementary School. Full details are available in the following 48-page PDF report (James Whiteside Elementary School statistics are on page 46):

2016-Mar-30: Report to the Board of Education (PDF download; 19.3 MBs)

The purpose of this web page is to provide a centralized information source regarding the reasoning that the Richmond School Board is depending on concerning the James Whiteside Elementary School, to scrutinize the justifications therein, and to contribute to coordinating the efforts in objecting to this decision with a particular aim at preventing it.

At present (May 2016), I'm collecting information. For discussion, please join the "Save Whiteside" group on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/savewhiteside

Media Coverage

2016-Jun-29: Richmond News - Save-our-school protests continue (by Philip Raphael)
- I was interviewed for this news article and I was also involved in this peaceful protest
2016-May-04: Vancouver Sun - Richmond schools face $4.2-million shortfall
- The Provincial Government has a long history of limiting the funding for social programs, and public eduation is no exception, especially with the high cost of unnecessary party-programs like The Olympics (which didn't even bother during the closing ceremonies to make mention of the Special Olympics, which was scheduled to occur immediately after the Olympics, which would have costed nothing to simply encourage everyone to attend next) -- the current Provincial Government should feel ashamed about all their bad decisions, particularly those that have lead to the demise of various social programs, but it seems that they simply don't care, and the underfunding of public schools are just another example of that carelessness. The failure to adequately fund public education poses a serious intellectual danger to society in the long-run because it threatens the quality of education.
2016-May-04: CTV News - 'Family friendly' neighbourhoods face school closures: CTV News analysis
2016-Apr-08: Richmond News - Richmond school closures loom large over kids: Shuttered schools may stay open during repairs
2016-Apr-19: The Province - School districts squeezed throughout B.C.
2016-Apr-07: CBC News - Richmond School Board to close at least 5 schools next year: School board has drawn up a shortlist of 16 schools to close
2016-Apr-06: The Province - Richmond names 16 schools to be considered for closure
2016-Apr-05: Global News - Richmond school district lists 16 schools for possible closure
2016-Apr-04: Richmond School Board - Next Phase In Long Range Faclities Plan
2016-Mar-30: CBC News - [Premier of BC] Christy Clark talks about school closures and her solution to enrolment problems
2016-Mar-10: 24 Hours - Richmond school closures coming in 2017
2015-Oct-28: Richmond News - Richmond school closures not a done deal: School board chair says parents still have a chance to voice their opinions on what future looks like
2015-Sep-11: Richmond News - Richmond School District mulling closures

Links & Resources

If you'd like to contact me to share your perspective, I'd be delighted regardless of whether you agree with me. My contact information is available on my contact page.