2008 schoolhouse fire

At around midnight on March 2, 2008, the original schoolhouse was set ablaze by arsonists.^[6][7] The kindergarten classes that were taught in the schoolhouse had to be temporarily relocated due to the fire.^[8] After the fire, the Vancouver School Board (VSB) considered demolishing the charred building; however, the idea was met with heavy protest, and the idea was later scrapped.

In 2012, Green Thumb Theatre entered into a lease agreement with the VSB, restoring the two outbuildings. Construction was completed in early 2013, and one of the buildings became the administrative office for Green Thumb Theatre, while the other houses a theatre.

2009 murder of Michael Ciro Nestoruk

On April 9, 2009, the body of Michael Ciro Nestoruk (41) was discovered on the school grounds by parents dropping off their children around 7:30 a.m. in the morning.^[9] Nestoruk was a homeless disabled man who was confined to a wheelchair after falling from the roof of Carleton at the age of 15.^[10] The fall had caused serious injuries requiring multiple surgeries and the amputation of his left leg. Due to the pain from the fall, Nestoruk eventually became addicted to prescription painkillers, which developed into a lifelong battle with drug addiction.^[10]

Aaron Dale Power (42) had struck Nestoruk on the head twice with a rock and concealed his body in the bushes, where it had been found the morning after.^[10] Power confessed to the murder in 2014 during an undercover police operation.^[10] The pair had been doing drugs at a nearby motel, after which Power confronted Nestoruk at Carleton. In December 2017, Power was convicted in the B.C. Supreme Court and found guilty of second-degree murder, and was sentenced to life in prison with no parole eligibility for 12 years.^[10]

2010 proposed closure

In September 2010, the VSB announced their intention to close down Carleton in June 2011, along with Champlain Heights Annex, McBride Annex, Sir William Macdonald Elementary, and Queen Alexandra Elementary, to decrease the VSB's budget shortfall.^[11][12] The closures were estimated to save $1.5 million in annual operating costs.^[13] Following public consultations, the VSB announced their intention to suspend closure considerations until further notice.^[14]

2016 proposed closure

In June 2016, six years after the first proposal for closure, the VSB announced their intention to close down Carleton, along with Graham D. Bruce Elementary School and Gladstone Secondary School, due to the VSB's failure to cut operating costs.^[15][16] In October 2016, the VSB announced that they would suspend their plans for school closures "indefinitely".^[17]

2016 brick building fire

On August 19, 2016, at around 7:15 PM, a fire began on the third floor of the main brick building, which quickly spread and was subsequently upgraded to a four-alarm blaze. The flames reach the building's attic, where the fire was contained. The source of the fire remains unclear.^[18] In 2021, the estimated cost to repair the fire damage was over $500,000, and would need to be funded from the BC Ministry of Education's capital plan.^[19]

Following the 2016 fire, Carleton has remained vacant while students and teachers were moved to Cunningham Elementary School, located approximately 1.8 kilometres away from Carleton.^[20] Carleton still operates as a separate entity within the buildings of Cunningham Elementary School, and the joined schools are referred to as "Carleton Cunningham (C2) Elementary School".^[21] At the time of the fire, the enrolment of Carleton was 308 students. Although Cunningham Elementary School had sufficient capacity to accommodate all 308 students, many students chose to move to other schools instead.^[19]

2019–2022 developments

In February 2019, the VSB released a draft of their long-term facilities plan, which named twenty-eight schools, including Carleton, that the school board considered as possible future closures, due to low-enrolment numbers and/or a need for seismic upgrades.^[22]

In May 2022, the Vancouver School Board released planning strategy report for schools in the southeast region of Vancouver, including Carleton.^[19] Within this report, Carleton's buildings' conditions were rated as "poor", with the VSB not having yet made any decisions regarding the future of the site.^[19] In 2019, the Vancouver Project Office Steering Committee determined there was no feasible business case for the seismic upgrading of Carleton that could be advanced to the BC Ministry of Education for consideration. Therefore, the VSB has opted to focus on finding alternate uses for the site, as well as a business case for closing Carleton as an enrolling school and closing the facilities at the Carleton school site.^[19] However, due to the VSB's inability to develop a feasible business case that could be advanced to the Vancouver municipal project office for consideration, there have been no developments since the release of the report.^[19]

Although the operating capacity of Carleton was to support 556 students, only 308 students were enrolled at the time of the 2016 fire, and only 80 students were enrolled in 2021 as part of the combination school of "Carleton Cunningham", with the number forecasted to further decrease.^[19]

2024 proposed closure

The main buildings in August 2023

In June 2023, seven years after the proposed closure in 2016, the VSB released a staff report that recommended school trustees once again consider closing down Carleton. Reasons cited included a projected further decrease in student enrolment, as well as the cost of seismic upgrades and repairs due to the 2016 fire and vandalism in the previous seven years.^[23]