Education minister fires Victoria School Board en masse

SD61 office. Image: Google Maps

All members of the Victoria School Board were fired yesterday, as Education Minister Lisa Beare followed through on warnings she gave weeks ago. For months, the board and Beare were at odds over the inclusion of school police liaison officer (SPLO) programs in the school district’s safety plans.

Sherri Bell, former president of Camosun College, has been hired as the official trustee to oversee SD61, with her role expected to continue until the next school board election in fall 2026. Kevin Godden—who was previously appointed as a special adviser to assist the board in creating a revised safety plan—has been reappointed to the same advisory role to assist Bell. Godden quit his position as adviser after the board rejected the safety plan he developed with community stakeholders.

In September, Beare ordered the board to create an updated school safety plan for SD61, expecting it to address a purported rise in gang activity on school grounds. Plans submitted by the board in November and this month excluded SPLO programs, only allowing police in schools in times of an emergency. Plans submitted also lacked input from key community partners Beare had asked for, including First Nations and police.

The School Act allows the province, in specific circumstances, to appoint a trustee to replace a board. According to a release from the province, the board was fired for demonstrating significant governance issues, failing to collaborate with partners in creating a safety plan, and not assisting the special adviser.

In December, Songhees and Esquimalt chiefs wrote to Beare condemning the board’s lack of consultation with First Nations, going back to 2023 when the board ended the SPLO program without engagement. The board said its decision to cut the program was linked to the BC Human Rights commissioner’s 2022 call for an end to SPLOs until the programs were proven to be beneficial. The board also pointed to an SD61 survey that found some students and staff felt unsafe with police officers roaming the schools.

Godden was appointed to the role of special adviser in early December. He and a working group developed a new safety plan, which involved input from multiple First Nations, police, and school staff. However, the board rejected the plan and put forward two alternatives that did not involve consulting with community stakeholders, including First Nations. The alternative plans did not include plans for police in schools outside of emergencies. With that, Godden told the board he couldn’t continue the job “with the integrity it was intended.”

In a release, the province said Bell and Godden’s appointments this week will help in “clearing the way for the completion and implementation of a safety plan for the district.”