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I n t e r MemorandumY a n c o u v . e r s c h o o l b o a r dDATE: 2012 February 22TO: Committee I

February 27, 2012FROM: Senior ManagementTeam (SMT)RE: Report on the Proposed Re locat ion of Main Street Adult Education Centre (MSEC)

S in c e D e c e m b e r 2010, Faci l i ties s taf f h as b e e n in dis cus s i on with th e B o a r d rega rd ing the d ispos i tion o fnon-VSB prope r t ies which a re l e a s e d by the district. C u r r e n t l y th e B o a r d is l e a s i n g s p a c e a t 33 3T e r m i n a l A v e n u e for th e M a in S t r e e t Ad u l t E du c a t io n C e n t r e (MSEC) program. In J u n e 2011 th e B o a r dwa s p r e s e n t e d with a p r o p o s a l to c o n s i d e r th e poss ib le r e l o c a t io n o f Main Stree t Adu l t Educat ion Cent reto B u i ld in g B o n th e S e ym o u r E l e m e n t a r y S c h o o l site. In S e p t e m b e r 2011, district s ta f f was d i rected toen te r in to a p u b l ic co n s u l ta t io n p r o c e s s re garding th is proposa l .During th e e a r ly s tages of the publ ic c o n s u l t a t i o n process , district staff h e a r d c o n c e rn s f r o m Ad u l tEdu ca t ion s ta f f that it a p p e a r e d th e district h a d o n l y c o n s i d e r e d o n e site for t h e p r o p o s e d r e l o ca t io n .Sta f f b rou gh t the se c o n c e r n s to t ru s t e e s a n d s o u g h t d ir e c t io n f ro m th e B o a r d i n o rde r to in ves t iga te thepossibility of finding o t h e r s u i ta b l e s i te s , within district p r o p e r ti e s , w h e r e t h e r e was under -u t i l izeds p a c e . B a s e d o n s p a c e ut i l iza t ion in fo rmat ion prov ided by the Facil it ies department, staff identif iedBr i tann ia , J o h n Ol ive r a n d T u p p e r S e c o n d a r y S c h o o l proper t ies a s V S B s i tes whe re , po ten t ia l l y, the rew o u l d a ls o be ava i lab le s p ace .This r e p o r t prov ides a n out l ine o f t h r e e o p ti o n s , with a c o m p a r i s o n o f e a c h opt ion in t e r m s o f s h o r t -te rm a n d l o n g -te r m co s t s , t e a c h i n g s p a c e , e a s e o f a c c e s s , poten t ia l impact fo r o t h e r p r o g r a m s , a n d a r e aa m e n i ti e s . Th is c o m p a r i s o n is p r o v i d e d in c h a r t fo r m ( s e e A p p e n d ix A ) a n d t h r o u g h th e e x p la n a t i o n sc o n t a i n e d in this report.It is impor tan t to n o t e that a d e c i s io n r e l a t e d to any of the t h r e e o p tio n s will h a v e imp l ica t ions fo r : theextens ion or t e r m i n a t i o n of l eas e a g r e e m e n t s ; t i m e l i n e s r e l a t e d to facility p l a n n i n g in te rms of design,c o n s tr u c t io n a n d /o r r e n o v a t io n ; a n d a r e q u i r e m e n t to h a v e Ad u l t E d u c a t io n ( AE ) c o u r s e plann ingc o m p l e t e d prior to th e p r e p a r a t i o n o f p r o g r a m m a t e r ia l s a n d p r o g r a m p ro m o t io n i n e a r l y Apr i l 2012.This r e p o r t is be ing presen ted to Committee Ion Februa ry 27 th 2012 for d iscuss ion , a n d then to thepublic B o a r d m e e tin g o n M a r ch 5 th 2012, fora dec is ion by th e B o a r d .

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OPTION 1:That MSEC remains in its current location at 333 Terminal Avenue.Considerations:Th e current lease of space at 333 Terminal Avenue costs the district $618,200 for the annual lease, taxesand operating costs. The leased facility presents challenges for educational use, such as smal lclassrooms and limited suppor t facilities. Numerous maintenance issues have had to be addressedthroughout the tenancy.As tenants, the district issubject to the risk of having the lease terminated by the landlord, or having tovacate the space if the building were to besold. There are limitations to the district's ability to renovatethe space or to effect any improvem ents to the overal l maintenan ce or operation of the facility. By'takinga p roactive approach, the district would have the control ov er planning for su stainab ility of the AEprogram. By utilizingavailable district space, there would be an opportunity to determine the programlocation and to configure space for an improved learning andteaching environmentSelecting Option 1 would mean that the district would continue to continue to carry leasing costs aspartof the A dult Ed ucation annua l budget, and wou ld be subject to the implications of an ongoingtenancy/landlord relationship.

OPTION 2:Relocate the MSEC program to Building B on the Seymour site.Considerations:

Th e original proposal to relocate the program o Building B on Seymour Elementary School site wasbased on a number of factors. Building B at Seymour Elementary School was one of five buildings closedby the district inJuly 2010, It is on the City of Vancouver's heritage registry (Class A-buildings ofprima ry heritage significance). Seymour Elementary School's projected enrol lment is stable and it is notanticipated that this space will be required by the school, at any time in the foreseeable future.With renovations, the facility would be of a sufficient size to accommodate ten classrooms andsupporting space. The renovation costs to meet program requirements,City building code requirementsand deferred building maintenan ce would require an exp enditure of approximately $4 million,whichwould be fund ed from restricted capital reserve (with the ap prov al of the Province), with the balance($3,1 mill ion) c om ingfrom loan-financingby the VSB, In the longterm this expenditure, balancedagainst the leasing costs, would result in a net savings to the VSB operating budget. The Building Brenovation would involve 12r14 months of design dev elopme nt, tendering and construction. This w ouldnecessitate an extension to the August 31, 2012 expiry of the existing Terminal Avenue lease, pendingcompletion of the construction.

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During the public consultation process, the primary concern expressed by Adult Education staff wasthatthis location would result in a decline of student enrollment due to its distancefrom aSkytrain station.This concern was stated during consultation meetings, and was borne out in the survey resultsfromboth staff and students, MSEC students did confirm that they travel to the AE centresby publictransportation in high percentages, both by bus (45%) and Skytrain (70%), Theyalso indicated that theywere not very familiar with the proposed Seymour site (64%) and would be less likely to attend coursesat this location (78%).Selecting Option 2 would mean that the MSEC would remain open at its present location until therenovation of Building B wascomplete approximately 12 -14 months following a decision. The districtwould seekan extension to the lease forthe existing MSEC space and carry those leasing costs duringthe development phase. It would developafinancing plan for the renovation costs> enter into thebuilding redevelopment process, and implement a relocation and communication plan to address issuesand concerns raised n the consultation process.

OPTION 3:Relocate the MSEC programto two sites for September 2012:

to BritanniaSecondary School property throughanexpansion of Hastings EducationCentre(HEC) for September 2012to Building6B The Barn' at John OliverSecondary School property

Considerations:Neither HEC nor The Barn' hassufficient space to compensate individually for a relocation of MSEC,however byutilizing a combination of the two locations the Adult Education program would retain itsfull capacity.At Hastings Education Centre (HEC) there would be an expansion of the current site which now occupies3 classrooms, an office area, and a learning centre space above the VPL ibrary site on the Britanniaproperty. The program at HEC would beexpanded to include 3 portables and 1 smallerclassroom for atotal of 7 spaces for structured classes. The expansion would be achieved partially through therelocation of one of the alternative education programs(8J9J) into Britannia Secondary building, whichhas under-utilizedspace;and by reopening a closed portable. There would be some costs associatedwith minor renovation work (i.e., interior painting, installing phone lines, andadding electrical outlets)at both sites.John Oliver Secondary is currently operating at about 65% of its capacity, and Grade 8-12 studentprogramming can be accommodated in the main building. Because of this low utilization level, Building6 b atJohn Oliver Secondary School property (The Barn') hasbeen identified for possible closure n June

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2012, This wasoutlined during the 2011-12 budget process in Budget Proposal 2,08, pertaining to theclosure or repurposing of vacant space building.Th e Barn' has 10 available classroom s spaces and the facility is recently painted and in good p hysicalcondition. With some minor renovations, space could be created fo r amenities that staff has dentifiedas being desira ble (le, staff roo m; stude nt lounge; bicycle storage), leaving 7-8 classroom spaces.Each location has amenities and characteristics which address priorities identified in the Adult E ducationsurvey by staff an d students.

Both ar e accessible through a combination of Skytrain and bus access from major arteries.At the Britannia site, other program s (Community Centre and VPL branch) operate throughoutthe day, on most evenings, and on weekends so the program would not operate in isolation.At theJohn O liver property, the program would be in close proximity to the VPL branch , and tothe South Hill Education Centre (SHEC), allowing for staff andstudents to move between thetwo sites easily. Ten (10) % of MSEC student survey respondents attended both SHEC and MSECin the fall.Parking is available onsite or nearby in both locations.Food and other services are located within walking distance.

Selecting Option 3 would mean that th e minor renovations at H ECand The Barn' would need to becompleted over the summer, in order to be ready for Sep tembe r 2012, The district would work withstaff an d administration to develop a relocation implementation plan, and a communication and *advertising plan to inform students of the ne w location(s).Please note that Tupper Secondary School was not pursued as an option. Whether i t was combined withthe H E C option, or utilized as a space on its own, it would not provide sufficient space to fully rep lacethe MSEC capacity. It is also a few blocks away from a main bus/Skytrain artery, and has fewer co-located services.SummaryTh e consultation process has been diverse and has highlighted key concerns related to the location ofAdul t Educ at ion programming. The focus of the consultation was initially related to the Building B optionat the Seymour schoo lsite. The Adult Educ at ion survey provided further information about th e kinds ofamenities an d services which are important to staff and students, resp ectively.Although there has not been a specific co nsultation process in relation to the expanded HEC site andThe Barn' on th e Joh n Oliver site, district staff did consider th e survey results an d feedback in relationto these possible locations.

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RecommendationThe senior management team is recommendingthat the Board approve Option 3;Relocate the MSEC program to two sites for September 2012:

to Britannia Secondary School property through an expansion of Hastings Education Centre(HEC) for September 2012to Building 6B 'The Barn' at John Oliver Secondary School property

Rationale;Option 3 provides ah opportunity for the district to balance educational and financial considerations-This option will:

make use of under-utilized VSB-ownedbuildings,

maintain the sametotal classroom capacity as MSEC hascurrently,provide teaching and learning spaces which can be renovated and maintained bythe VSB,be accessible from major transportation arteries.be the most cost effective solution.

Appendix AComparative Chart of Options for MSEC Relocat ion