The Board of Education of School District No.

33 (Chilliwack)

BOARD OF EDUCATION
INFORMATION REPORT
DATE:

September 20, 2016

TO:

Board of Education

FROM:

Gerry Slykhuis, Secretary-Treasurer

RE:

SECURITY ON SCHOOL DISTRICT SITES

BACKGROUND
Homelessness has been an ongoing concern in Chilliwack and many communities in British
Columbia for the past number of years. The Chilliwack Healthier Communities Committee has
highlighted this issue on its agenda for the past number of years. In the past year, due to increased
homelessness in Chilliwack and a recent change of a City bylaw, the School District has
experienced an increase of homeless camps situated on school grounds, often adjacent to City
parks. This issue has been ongoing and staff have been dealing with it all summer.
The school district and the City have a number of shared fields. During operational hours it is the
districts responsibility for scheduling and caretaking. After operational hours it is the Citys
responsibility. Although complexities exist ensuring site security and clean-up, this positive
partnership through good communication provides significant benefits for our students.
Recently, we have added to our security patrols for our sites to assist with the problem. We have
also had a number of very productive discussions with the City, and are now sharing security
services where practical. When homeless people are encountered on school grounds they are
moved off of the property either by our security, the Citys bylaw enforcement or the RCMP. Camps
are removed and sites are cleaned immediately upon the district being aware of them.
We have daily inspections of our sites to ensure grounds are clear. Custodial staff check school
grounds daily for any concerns. Custodial staff have the equipment and are trained on how to
remove found sharps.
Since the additional security has been provided, there has been a decrease in the number of
homeless camps and resulting impact on school district property.
There are sites where additional resources (i.e. mechanical sweeps of fields, additional custodial
time, additional noon hour supervisors) have been added, and may be added as deemed necessary.

Partners in Learning!