Hamber Classrooms Rented Out to Raise Revenue for New School

Photo Credit: Elvis Meng

Since Hamber’s new building was opened to students in 2024, the Vancouver School Board (VSB) has been renting out Hamber classrooms to different organizations to help raise funds for the school.

​Ms. L. Moss (Social Studies) is one of the teachers impacted by the rentals, as her classroom is currently being rented out to a German language school until May. The room is rented out after school on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. 

“I do a lot of prep-work late in the department room from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM,” she said, explaining that she can’t use her classroom to catch up on prep-work during that time. Ms. Moss was simply informed of changes by a school administrator. “It’s the school’s classroom, not mine.” 

Despite the limitations on leaving her teaching materials in her classroom overnight, Ms. Moss has no significant complaints about the rentals. “So far, I don’t have any complaints about the German language school. They only moved the desks and chairs around and left a Post-it note behind.”

According to Mr. N. Despotakis (Administration), the school receives requests for rentals and always has the final say on whether or not classrooms will be rented out. He explained that Hamber has only encountered a few small inconveniences with the rentals. For instance, a religious group misused a soundboard, which the Sound and Lighting Club was later able to fix. Despotakis elaborated that the rentals overall benefited Hamber, with the funds generated going directly back to the school to pay for computers and equipment for student learning.

Ms. Moss also supported the VSB’s decision to rent out classrooms. She stated, “I understand why the school is renting out classrooms to German language schools. The profits go back to the school and support student learning, which is positive.”