Vancouver private school averts closure, has plan ‘to carry on and become sustainable’

A private elementary and high school in Vancouver’s Yaletown has averted closure, for now, as it struggles with serious financial problems and a barrage of lawsuits.

The Westside School, with two sites in Yaletown and 150 students, bills itself as a place of “happy excellence” with a mission “to enable its students to discover and use their potential wisely.”

Last month, the province stepped in to pay a grant of about $186,000 one month early to the Westside Preparatory Society to help keep the school afloat, according to school society officials.

Normally the grant would be paid in January, but the province paid it early because the Westside Preparatory Society, the authority that operates The Westside School, faced serious financial problems after money promised from a settlement agreement fell through.

The settlement agreement was the outcome of one of two dozen lawsuits in B.C. Supreme Court involving the school society or those who have been involved with the society, in this case involving former directors. Other lawsuits involve those who had contracted with the school or allegedly provided loans and investments to provide funds to the society, show court filings.