June 2, 2023

Good a&ernoon families of Graham D. Bruce Elementary school,

I am reaching out today to inform you about a recently approved Board mo>on that impacts our school
community.

At the most recent private Board mee>ng on May 29, the Board approved the following mo>on:
The Board of Educa4on approve proceeding with the consulta4on process, as described in Policy
20: Disposal of Land and Improvements, to consider the poten4al declara4on of the eastern
por4on of the Graham Bruce Community Elementary school site as surplus to the educa4onal
needs of the school district.

District staff are proposing to subdivide the eastern portion of the school (total area of 0.39 hectares).
Bruce Elementary has a larger site area (1.98 hectares) when compared to the average VSB elementary
school size (1.78 hectares). Staff are proposing to sell or long-term lease the eastern portion to generate
necessary capital revenue to address Board capital commitments and priorities that would benefit
students in the VSB.
It is important to note no decision has been made. This is the first step in a rigorous process as outlined
in Board Policy 20 – Disposal of land or improvements. As per the policy, the Board must first determine
if the site is surplus to the District’s educa>onal needs before considering future land use possibili>es,
such as selling or leasing the land long-term.

With the Board’s approval to move forward with the public engagement process, the District plans to
engage with impacted community members star>ng in the fall. Feedback received will help inform the
Board’s decision if the eastern por>on is surplus to the District’s needs, leading to a sale or long-term
lease of the area. This will include engaging with stakeholders, the three host Na>ons, school
communi>es in the vicinity of Bruce Elementary, as well as other civic agencies. The engagement will
help inform the Board’s decision, which will be made at a public Board mee>ng later in the year.

As per the Board’s direc>on, the staff report about this surplus considera>on will be published later
today on the District’s website in advance of staff presen>ng the report at the live-streamed Facili>es
Planning Commi[ee on June 7, 2023.

District staff will be sharing details about the engagement process and how you can par>cipate in the
coming month as they become finalized.

I am commi[ed to keeping you updated at every step of this process and will share further details when
they become available. In the mean>me, if you have addi>onal ques>ons, please do not hesitate to
contact me directly at knoelbentley@vsb.bc.ca or 604-713-4778.

Regards,

Karen Noel-Bentley
Principal of Bruce Elementary