The purpose of the Community Planning and Partnerships Policy is to encourage school boards to reach out to the community organizations to share planning information on a regular basis. Particularly, boards are encouraged to ensure that additional efforts are made to share information with community organizations prior to commencing a pupil accommodation.
The sharing of information will allow school boards and other entities to work together to the benefit of boards, students and the community, and to optimize the use of public assets owned by school boards. This policy is intended to assist boards in establishing more facility partnerships, and to support effective planning with community partners regarding land-use and green space/ park planning.
The policy also focuses on opportunities to share facilities with community partners when building new schools and undertaking significant renovations, when considering the use of unoccupied space in schools, and when considering properties associated with schools that may close and sites that may be considered for future disposition.
School boards' primary responsibility is to support the achievement and safety of students. Within that context, the intent of this policy is to:
- Reduce facility operating costs for school boards and government;
- Improve services and supports available for students;
- Strengthen relationships between school boards and community partners and the public;
- Maximize the use of public infrastructure through increased flexibility and utilization; and
- Provide a foundation for improved service delivery for communities.
