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Nearly one-third of 164 “surplus” lands sold by the government since 2013 belonged to the Education Ministry, and the permanent loss of those properties has increased the frustration felt by parents of children in overcapacity schools.

Devan Gee’s two older daughters attended Ridgeway Annex in North Vancouver before it was closed in 2011 and later sold. Today, her third child goes to Ridgeway Elementary, which is four blocks from the former Annex, and it is so overcrowded there are 12 modular classrooms on the playground.

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“It’s kind of like overflow schooling,” said Gee, who is upset the Annex was sold.

More classrooms are desperately needed in her neighbourhood now because of the massive Moodyville redevelopment that is expected to add 1,500 homes.

In a letter to The Vancouver Sun in 2016, longtime North Vancouver trustee Megan Higgins said it was a difficult choice to sell the Annex for $5.1 million to a developer. It was done, she said, because the district was underfunded and needed the money.