--- title: "COPE on Put Students First at Vancouver School Board: 23 commitments | Vancouver 2026 | voche.me" canonical_url: "https://voche.me/parties/cope/2026-platform/put-students-first" last_updated: "2026-10-10T04:00:26.242Z" meta: description: "COPE's School Board platform would create a universal meal program for all VSB students, fund mental health counsellors in place of school liaison officers..." "og:description": "COPE's School Board platform would create a universal meal program for all VSB students, fund mental health counsellors in place of school liaison officers..." "og:title": "COPE on Put Students First at Vancouver School Board: 23 commitments | Vancouver 2026" "twitter:description": "COPE's School Board platform would create a universal meal program for all VSB students, fund mental health counsellors in place of school liaison officers..." "twitter:title": "COPE on Put Students First at Vancouver School Board: 23 commitments | Vancouver 2026" --- ** COPE · Vancouver 2026 # COPE's School Board platform: school meals, counsellors, open meetings, public school land COPE's School Board platform would create a universal meal program for all VSB students, fund mental health counsellors in place of school liaison officers, reverse cuts to student support programs, live-stream board meetings and keep school land public. See the 1 chapters [The whole Fight for Vancouver](https://voche.me/parties/cope/2026-platform) [**12**Candidates](https://voche.me/parties/cope/candidates) [**9/10**Issues with published policy](https://voche.me/parties/cope/platform) [**7**Sources on file](https://voche.me/parties/cope/money) **9**Questions answered SCHOOL BOARD · PAGES 20 TO 21 ## The aim of Put Students First at Vancouver School Board, in the party's words > Prioritize classrooms and services for students as first priority. In the PDF, COPE's School Board platform is part 3.7 of the Fight for Vancouver section, on pages 20 and 21. We list it as its own section here because it is the only part of the platform aimed at the Vancouver School Board, the body that runs the city's public schools. COPE is running candidates for School Board trustee. The main items are a universal school meal program, mental health counsellors in place of school liaison officers, the return of programs for vulnerable students that COPE says were cut, more arts and sports, and the use of school buildings for child care and gardens. On governance, COPE would live-stream board meetings with public questions, hold fewer private meetings and add participatory budgeting. It would keep school land public and oppose public money for elite private schools. The School Board controls its meetings, its programs, its buildings and how it spends the district budget. The Province sets school funding, the funding formula, class size money and grants to independent schools, so COPE's requests for more money, faster school building and fairer special education funding are things a COPE board could only ask the Province to do. **1**Chapters **23**Commitments **4**Need another government or a regional body 1 CHAPTERS ## Every chapter in Put Students First at Vancouver School Board [

Put Students First at Vancouver School Board

COPE at the School Board: universal meals, counsellors in schools, open meetings - Put classrooms and services for students first - A universal school meal program - Use school buildings for child care, arts, sports and gardens23 commitmentsPages 20 to 21Read the chapter](https://voche.me/parties/cope/2026-platform/put-students-first/put-students-first-at-vancouver-school-board) WHO WOULD HAVE TO ACT ## Who holds the power for these 23 commitments Each chapter page names the body for every commitment and gives the reason in one sentence. School Board19 Province4 ON THE BALLOT ## The COPE candidates behind this ### School Board [304**Suzie Mah**Ballot 304 · Vancouver School Board trustee](https://voche.me/candidates/suzie-mah) [314**Melanie Cheng**Ballot 314](https://voche.me/candidates/melanie-cheng) [323**Derrick O'Keefe**Ballot 323](https://voche.me/candidates/derrick-o-keefe) [324**Gwen Giesbrecht**Ballot 324](https://voche.me/candidates/gwen-giesbrecht) QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ## Questions about Put Students First at Vancouver School Board
What is COPE's platform for the Vancouver School Board? COPE would put classrooms first, create a universal meal program for all VSB students, fund mental health counsellors in place of school liaison officers, reverse cuts to programs for vulnerable students, live-stream board meetings and keep school land public (platform, pages 20 and 21).
Who are COPE's School Board candidates? Derrick O'Keefe, Gwen Giesbrecht, Melanie Cheng and Suzie Mah are running for Vancouver School Board with COPE (platform, page 20).
Does COPE want to end police in Vancouver schools? COPE would fund school mental health counsellors in place of school liaison officers, the Vancouver police officers who work in schools under a program run jointly with the School Board (platform, page 20).
What does COPE say about selling school land? COPE would treat school properties as public lands, protect them and use them for public benefit, in place of selling them to cover budget shortfalls (platform, page 20).
Can a COPE School Board get more money for schools? School funding and the funding formula are set by the Province. COPE says it would push the Province for more public school funding, smaller class sizes, faster school repairs and new schools, and special education funding that matches students' needs (platform, pages 20 and 21).
## Sources Every commitment on this page comes from the party's own material, marked SAYS SO ITSELF. It proves what the party says it would do. Who holds each power is our own addition, from the sources listed after it. 1. [Fight for Vancouver: COPE 2026 Platform (PDF) ](https://www.votecope.ca/s/Fight-For-Vancouver-COPE-2026-Platform-t7yf.pdf#page=20)SAYS SO ITSELFCOPE · pages 20 to 21 · checked September 30, 2026 2. [Independent school funding ](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/administration/program-management/independent-schools/funding)Province of British Columbia · checked September 30, 2026 3. [Vancouver Police Finally Reveal Names of School Liaison Officers ](https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/11/17/Vancouver-Police-Reveal-Names-School-Liaison-Officers/)The Tyee · checked September 30, 2026 ## Sitemap See the full [sitemap](/sitemap.md) for all pages.