School closures — A perfect storm

Charles Ungerleider, a UBC professor emeritus of educational studies, notes that school closures are “a symptom of a society that has changed and whose public policy priorities have changed.”

In an op-ed for the Vancouver Sun, Ungerleider outlined a number of social changes that are driving the closures, including falling birthrates, lack of affordable housing and limited jobs that pay good wages. He acknowledged that school trustees have to make difficult decisions in light of these social trends.