Save Our Schools? Or Save Our Seats?
I received two quick responses yesterday to Premier Gordon Campbell’s announcement about the Neighbourhoods of Learning pilot project. The first was a phone call from a General Gordon parent who wanted to refute suggestions that the initiative was political (because one of the participating schools, Queen Mary, is in the premier’s riding). He said the idea came from creative parents at General Gordon and gave most credit to architect Z Smith. (See his comments below.) Then I got the following from a regular poster on this site, Dawn Steele:
“This is just shameless pork-barrelling – a thinly-dressed excuse to throw $30 million in tax dollars at the well-connected parents in Campbell’s riding who complained that the facilities funding formula that was good enough for everyone else wasn’t good enough for them (e.g. Gordon parents who complained their proposed new school would be “aesthetically substandard”). How far will the $30 million go? Not much further than the extra reno costs that Gordon parents are demanding so they can have a new school that has all the extras AND is seismically safe AND preserves their gracious historical facade AND makes them feel self-righteously green.