The move follows an ongoing dispute over the board’s cancellation of the school police liaison program
Education Minister Lisa Beare has made good on her warning to members of the Greater Victoria School Board, announcing Thursday that she had dismissed them.
Beare noted that the district has seen an “alarming increase” in gang activity in schools and area police chiefs have been raising concerns. Beare said students and their safety are the focus of every decision she makes as education minister. “If kids do not feel safe at school, their ability learn and to thrive is compromised.”
In the case of the Greater Victoria School District, “there is evidence that the board did not assist the special adviser, demonstrated significant governance issues and failed to collaborate with partners in the development of a safety plan,” it said. Howe said that a democratically elected school board “should not be dismissed in this manner,” while the Victoria Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils issued a statement last month saying the board should not be fired.
The board’s stance was in part based on concerns expressed by B.C. human rights commissioner Kasari Govender that a police presence in schools could be uncomfortable for Black and Indigenous students.Lori Poppe, who helps to co-ordinate the group Parents and Police Together — which has about 2,200 members — said she is “very happy” with Beare’s decision.
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