CBC News interviewed Charles Ungerleider, UBC education professor emeritus, for a story on the possible reasons for possible public schools closures.
“We know what people have said over a number of years that funding has been inadequate to keep up with inflation and other costs, but we really don’t know that from an independent point of view,” he said.
Ungerleider and Jason Ellis, a UBC education professor, were quoted in a similar story in the Vancouver Sun
The Sun found that 30 per cent of Vancouver students attend schools that are not in their catchment area.
“(The number of schools on the closure list from the east side) is a consequence of having emphasized schools of choice,” Ungerleider said. “That itself destabilized the relationship between a community and its schools.”
Ellis blames school closures on government funding for private schools and dropping enrolment caused by open boundaries.
“I think that raises a question of whether good planning policy (should create) a market where schools compete for students and each school tries to develop a niche program to draw students from another,” Ellis said.
The story also appeared in The Province and a similar story appeared in Metro News.
