About Queen Elizabeth Annex

Queen Elizabeth Annex (QEA) offers French immersion to Vancouver students in kindergarten to Grade 3. There are 71 students attending QEA. It is the feeder school to Jules Quesnel Elementary (JQ), which offers K to 7 French immersion programming. As a District choice program, the Annex does not have a neighbourhood catchment, rather it enrolls students from across the District. 

Current District context  

Despite an overall increase in Vancouver’s population, both the birth rate and the percentage of school-aged children continues to decline. In fact, enrolment in Vancouver schools has been declining since 1997. Over the past 10 years, the District has seen approximately an 8.4 per cent decline in enrolment, representing approximately 4,400 fewer students. Current forecasts indicate further enrolment decline in the years ahead.

A recommendation to close a school is not taken lightly and must be made in alignment with Board policy and informed by data. District staff have recommended this closure to the Board to ensure responsible use of resources to benefit all students while prioritizing education opportunities for QEA students.

• + Closing the QEA school site ensures responsible use of resources to benefit all students.

  QEA has high operating costs. Costs to operate QEA are 40 per cent higher ($11,288 per student in 2019) than the provincial enrollment allocation of $7,885 per student. Closing QEA would result in significant operational savings of between $150,000 to $300,000 annually, which could be re-allocated into programs and services supporting students across the District. Effectively managing District resources aligns with the recent Board approved Education Plan, where the Board has made the commitment to "improving stewardship of the District’s resources by focusing on effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability."

• + Closing the QEA school site prioritizes student learning.

  District staff believe that there is greater educational benefit for students in a language program to be part of a larger community because it allows for more robust French programming, increases students’ cultural experiences and enhance opportunities for teacher and student collaboration. Moving the French immersion program at QEA to JQ would also allow students to stay in one school from kindergarten to Grade 7, reducing one transition for QEA students, who currently continue their French immersion program at JQ from grades 4 to 7.

  Bringing QEA students together with JQ or QE students allows them to be part of a larger school community within the preferred school size range. This provides additional access to shared resources and supports for learners, as well as increased opportunities for staff collaboration.

  It is important to note that if this closure proceeds and the QEA students join a new school, their access to French immersion programming is protected. The proposed closure guarantees QEA students continued placement in French immersion. If QEA is closed, staff will work closely with the QEA community to ensure a successful transition to the new site.
  
  

STUDENT SAFETY: The proposed closure could advance the District's goal of having all students in seismically safe schools. QEA is not a seismically safe facility, and it is highly unlikely that the funding required to seismically upgrade or replace the school will be made available to the District. In January 2021, the Board adopted an updated Long-Range Facilities Plan that prioritizes student access to seismically safe schools as soon as possible. Should the Board decide to close the school, one proposal would be to relocate students to JQ which has been seismically upgraded. Another proposal would be to move students to QE, which has the same seismic rating as QEA, but, increasing enrolment at QE may strengthen the rationale for a future seismic upgrade sooner, creating safer spaces for more students. 

POTENTIAL REVENUE: There is serious interest from the Francophone public school board, Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique (CSF), to acquire the QEA site. Although land disposal is a different and separate process, there could be significant capital revenue generated from CSF acquiring the QEA school site. This revenue could be used to support other capital priorities such as building new schools, expanding existing schools, and/or enhancing seismic projects from an upgrade project to a replacement school.

LEGAL PROCEEDINGS: The CSF has filed a civil claim against the District, the Province of B.C.  and the Ministry of Education. The claim mentions a 2016 B.C. Supreme court ruling 
requiring the Province to supply a school site in Vancouver west of Granville Street, to CSF. The claim also refers to the District’s process in 2019 that did not result in closing QEA. In addition to the civil claim, there is a confidential education mediation underway involving the CSF, the District and Ministry of Education to resolve a land dispute. These two separate proceedings require extensive and costly District resources. 

Why propose a school closure now? 

This site has been previously identified for closure. Although each instance had specific circumstances, the District has noted each time that the QEA site is not required based on enrollment numbers. There are enough schools in the area to meet the needs of the population now and into the future. 

Most recently, when QEA was last proposed for closure in 2019, some members of the Board expressed a desire to approve an updated Long Range Facilities Plan prior to considering any school closure. In January 2021, the Board approved an updated plan. The plan outlines the District’s responsibility to manage its facilities in an efficient and effective way. 

The District also acknowledges that the outstanding legal proceedings and as well as the potential for revenue generation to fund capital projects are related and time-sensitive factors for the Board to consider. It is important to note, however, that a decision about the future use of the QEA site is a separate process that would come after the decision about the recommendation to close the school. 

See the backgrounder for additional factors considered, as required by Board policy 14 -School closure (section 7).

See the fact sheet for an overview of the rationale and important links. 

See the recorded information session for an overview of the proposed closure and common questions identified in the community dialogue sessions.