LANDS! is dedicated to stopping the sale of public school properties across British Columbia. LANDS is founded on the principle that universal public education is the foundation of our society, our economy and our democracy.

The Provincial Government of British Columbia has forced the sale of public school lands by demanding that school districts bring money to the table should they want money for capital funding projects like seismic upgrades and new schools. The only way for districts to come up with the money is to sell school properties.

Since 2001 a variety of tactics have been used to justify the sales of school lands such as:

1. Grossly exaggerating declining enrollment which has actually declined just over 6% since 2000.
2. Claiming there will never be another increase in enrollment -- disregarding the fate of children beyond our ability to foretell. In the immediate future, the echo baby boomers recently turned 30 and began to have babies in droves.
3. Reconfiguration (either to, or from the Middle School Model) provides a chance to change catchments and pathways and empty out the most marketable school which is then deemed 'low-enrollment', closed and sold. 
4. Pitting communities against each other with claims that if schools are not sold other schools will not be built -- or music and other enrichment programs will be cancelled or ? (tell your story).
5. Referring to the school properties as "surplus" even though the lands were set aside in trust for future generations -- not just our generation.
6. Try to sell the lands in secret and then present the community with a done deal.