Ongoing space issues in the Greater Victoria school district mean the Vancouver Island School of Art could have to find a new home for September.
A 2016 Supreme Court of Canada decision that restored 2002 contract language for B.C. teachers resulted in smaller class sizes and a need for more classrooms.
The art school has been in a building on school district property on Quadra Street, near Kings Road, for the past 13 years, but a plan has been put forward to move Artemis Place Secondary, an alternative school serving young women and transgender youth, to the site.
That would leave Artemis Place’s current location in the Dean Heights Annex, located on a corner of the Lansdowne Middle School property, available for use.
District secretary-treasurer Mark Walsh said Lansdowne and nearby Central Middle School are both full, so the repurposing of the 9,000-square-foot Dean Heights Annex for middle-school use would be helpful. The building has room for up to six classrooms.
Artemis Place currently has 50 students, including some young mothers who make use of the child-care service it offers, Walsh said. Moving the program to the similarly sized Quadra property makes a lot of sense, Walsh said. A district report notes that the Quadra site has room for potential expansion of child care.
“We did approach the art school well over a year ago to indicate we did anticipate that there would be needs,” he said.
“We just didn’t know when that would occur.
“We did suggest to them that they should be considering alternatives.”
The district’s student numbers during the current academic year have raised concerns.
“After spring break we realized that we need to start taking action now,” Walsh said.
Should the plan for Artemis go through, it would stay in its current location for another year to allow for necessary upgrades at the Quadra site.
Wendy Welch, executive director of the art school, said hope remains that the facility could ultimately stay where it is.
A total of 3,769 students have taken workshops and courses since the school started in 2005. A present, students are aged 18 to 80.
Regardless of what happens, classes will be offered there until the end of August, Welch said.
“Because we’re such an important part of the community, we thought maybe we could work something out, that the school board could find alternative spaces to use for classrooms,” she said, noting that the school has a good relationship with the board.
Welch said the current location is well suited to being an art school. “
There are really large classrooms with big windows and high ceilings.”
She said the search is on for a new venue, if needed.
“We’re open to anything and we also would like to put it out to the community if they have suggestions.”
News of what the school is facing has generated plenty of support, Welch said.
“People do not want this school to move from the neighbourhood,” she said. “It’s a really integral part of the Quadra Village.
“We could move to another location but this is so ideal for us.”
Welch said the public is invited to call with venue ideas to 250-380-3500.
