To: Trustees of The Vancouver School Board: Allen Blackey, Eleanor Gregory, Don Lee, Sharon Gregson, Clarence Hansen
CC: General Gordon PAC Chair, Members of General Gordon Seismic Committee,
Vancouver Sun Education Reporter, Janet Steffenhagen

I am writing in response to the letter addressed to Committee II, Planning and Facilities, from Mark Dale and Henry Ahking, February 5th, 2008.

It bears saying that General Gordon is a very old building by Vancouver standards, and it has considerable value to the community at large, not just parent community and the staff, but also the families that have used it and to members of the public at large who cherish these old buildings.

It is my strongest feeling that if you are going to demolish a heritage buildings within the community, then the community at large needs to know about it well in advance so that they to have time to respond.

I have only recently become aware of the plans to demolish Gordon and have spent a great many hours in the past two weeks reviewing documents on the Gordon Elementary School website and on the VSB website, desperately trying to make sense of how a public heritage building could be scheduled for demolition without the knowledge of the general public. The news came as a shock to me, and I am not alone in my sentiments.

A letter from the Gordon School PAC has caught the attention of a great many people in the community ; neighbours, friends, past neighbours, former students, grandparents and many others. There is a serious groundswell of opposition that is building and that will need to be addressed.

I have to say that after reading the Heritage document on the VSB website-or at least the majority of it’s 127 pages- it was not obvious to me that General Gordon was in any danger, quite the contrary. And if it Gordon is to be demolished in spite of the fact that it is listed as a heritage building worthy of retention, then what of other schools on the list? The information I have been able to garner from the VSB website indicates that considerable work has been done and that public consultation has been forthcoming. Reading it through I would assume that the very greatest regard was shown for heritage issues and for public consultation. So why is it that so few people in the community are aware of this process and its implications?

I have to say the I did not feel that consultation with the “Working Group” as it is referred to in the Heritage Document is fully representative of the community at large.

The language that is used to explain to the public the nature of what is going on needs to be easy to understand. The importance and long term implications of public meetings with words such as “Seismic Mitigation- Facilities Review” are not necessarily apparent to the public at large, let alone busy families with hectic schedules. It does not surprise me in the least that the meeting held at Gordon Elementary School with facilities personnel, for consultation regarding the proposed alternatives for Gordon Elementary’s future only had nineteen people in attendance.

In a situation like this, where an important discussion does not garner much response, I think questions need to be asked. As an ordinary citizen who cares about community, it would have occured to me at this point to ask the question, “ This is a very important discussion about the future of a heritage building, in a community with a history of strong advocacy for heritage conservation issues, I wonder why so few people have attended this meeting?” Though I am aware that public complacency is rampant in our tired and hectic society, still such low attendance would have sparked for me the consideration that perhaps there was something amiss in the communication process.

Although I am a new parent at General Gordon, I grew up in this community and my roots are firmly and deeply planted in this neighbourhood. I love this old school and it is hard to bear the thought that it and others like it may disappear from our Vancouver landscape forever.

I have worked in great haste and with much diligence to come to a basic understanding of the seismic mitigation process. Though it is apparent efforts have been made to pursue public consultation, the fact remains that a large percentage of the community remains ignorant of the fact that our city is at risk of loosing some of its oldest public heritage buildings.

I have greater expectations in this regard and I trust in writing this, that it will prompt more transparent discussion and communication between the Vancouver School Board and the people, so that important issues are presented in a way that is more accessible to the larger public.

Thank-you in advance for your time and consideration in this matter.

Sincerely, Alison Diesvelt