VICTORIA — British Columbia’s education minister has fired the entire Victoria School Board after a lengthy dispute over its refusal to allow police in schools except in emergencies, in a rare move the ousted chair called “profoundly undemocratic.”

The elected board of School District No. 61 has said the ban, in place since 2023, was based on reports that some students and teachers — particularly those who are Indigenous or people of colour _ did not feel safe with officers in schools.