City School Districts
Beginning in 1884, the more populous
centres of the province were classified as City School Districts. An amendment
to the School Act in 1888 required the school boards of
Victoria, Nanaimo, New Westminster and Vancouver to pay one-third of the
cost of teachers' salaries; under the 1891 Public School Act,
city school boards were required to defray half the cost of salaries and the total
costs of school sites, buildings, repairs, and incidental expenses.
A new
system of school funding, based on per capita grants, was introduced in 1901, at which time urban centres were classified into "Cities"
of the "lst, 2nd, and 3rd Class" for school purposes. Methods of apportioning
grants were revised in 1905, but the tripartite classification was
retained.
This section consists of a list of City
School Districts established in the province between 1884 and 1946. A date
shown in parentheses indicates when a school was first opened in the district
or when the district was first defined.
Researchers should note that City School Districts usually embraced a number of individual schools, including elementary, superior, junior high and high schools. For the present, in order to identify particular schools within a city school district (other than Victoria (S.D. 61)), researchers will have to consult the Annual Reports
of the Public Schools.
Additional information about city schools (e.g.
the precise locations of individual schools, details of school construction, etc.) may be available
from School District
offices.
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Alberni (1886) Designated "City School
District" [CSD], 3rd class, 1913
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Armstrong (1893) CSD 3rd class, 1913
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Chilliwack (1874) CSD 3rd class, 1908;
2nd class, 1915
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Columbia (1899) CSD 3rd class, 1901.
Amalgamated with Grand Forks, 1902.
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Courtenay (1870) CSD 3rd class,
1914
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Cranbrook (1897) CSD 3rd class, 1901;
2nd class, 1910
-
Cumberland (Union Mines, 1890) CSD 3rd
class, 1901
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Duncan (1891) CSD 3rd class, 1912
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Enderby (1688) CSD 3rd class, 1906
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Fernie (1897) CSD 3rd class, 1905; 2nd
class, 1910
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Grand Forks (1897) CSD 3rd class; 2nd
class, 1909
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Greenwood (1897) CSD 3rd class,
1901
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Kamloops (1886) CSD 3rd class, 1901
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Kaslo (1893) CSD 3rd class, 1901
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Kelowna (1893) CSD 3rd class, 1906;
2nd class, 1912
-
Ladysmith (1900) CSD 2nd class,
1905
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Merritt (1908) CSD 3rd class, 1912
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Nanaimo (1870) CSD 1884; CSD 2nd class,
1901
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Nelson (1892) CSD 2nd class, 1901
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New Westminster (1870) CSD 1884; CSD
2nd class, 1901; lst class, 1909
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North Vancouver (1902) CSD 3rd class,
1906; 2nd class, 1909
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Phoenix (1900) CSD 3rd class, 1901
In 1920, Phoenix school closed and the community's status as a school district was rescinded.
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Port Alberni (1912) CSD 3rd class,
1912
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Port Coquitlam (1913) CSD 3rd class,
1913
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Port Moody (1884) CSD 3rd class,
1913
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Prince George (1914) CSD 3rd class,
1915
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Prince Rupert (1910) CSD 3rd class,
1912
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Revelstoke (1890) CSD 3rd class, 1901;
2nd class, 1905
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Rossland (Trail Creek, 1895) CSD 2nd
class, 1901
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Salmon Arm (1891) CSD 3rd class,
1912
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Sandon (1897) CSD 3rd class, 1901
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Slocan (Brandon~Slocan 1897) CSD 3rd
class, 1905
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Trail (1896) CSC 3rd class, 1901
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Vancouver (Granville, 1873) CSD 1888;
CSD lst class, 1901
-
Vernon (Priest's Valley, 1883) CSD 3rd
class, 1901; 2nd class 1909
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Victoria (1869) CSD 1884; CSD lst class,
1901
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Wellington CSD 3rd class, 1901
Wellington was reduced to the status of a "Graded Rural School" in 1902.