The claim: In a Facebook comment posted July 30, Mayor Eric Woodward told a resident that the new school planned for 208 Street and 80 Avenue (and by extension, a community centre for Willoughby at the elementary school site) “is once again waiting on SD35,” with “Chair Ashdown, Trustee Fox and others once again doing all they can to delay, delay, delay and block that project.” He added that the Township “may need the Ministry of Infrastructure to intervene,” and that “only in Langley would we have school trustees actually blocking a new school for personal political gain.”
The verdict: FALSE. The public record — including the mayor’s own news release — shows the opposite.
Here are the facts.
1. Every partner signed on — including the school board
On February 5, 2026, the Township’s own news release announced the deal was “formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreed to by the Township, the Province and the School District.” All three partners. The Province and the School District published the same words. School Board Chair Candy Ashdown is quoted in that release — the same trustee the mayor now accuses of blocking the project — saying the Board “is pleased to work with our partners and be part of a process to plan the building of a new Willoughby Elementary for students.”
2. The board’s support is unanimous, and it’s on the record
At the June 16, 2026, public board meeting, Chair Ashdown read a statement into the record on behalf of all seven trustees. It could not be plainer: the Board “has consistently and unanimously supported this proposed partnership,” wants to “state unequivocally” its support, and “remains committed to working collaboratively with the Township of Langley and the Ministry of Infrastructure.”
Unanimous. Consistent. Six weeks before the mayor typed “delay, delay, delay.”
And yes, as responsible stewards of public assets, the Board requires a full legal review of any agreement, and full transparency. Both are satisfied the moment the deal is put in front of the public.
3. The next step belongs to the Township, not the trustees
Read the joint news release again. The next step after the MOU is a feasibility study — conducted by the Township. The Township also funds and leads the design, permitting, and construction of the replacement school. When the deal was announced, the Langley Advance Times reported a final agreement was expected by summer 2026, with construction starting in 2027 and the school opening in fall 2028. It is now August. If that schedule is slipping, the study, the budget, and the paperwork all sit in Township Hall and with Mayor Woodward.
4. The Ministry of Infrastructure doesn’t need to “intervene.” It’s already at the table
The mayor warns he “may need the Ministry of Infrastructure to intervene.” The Ministry is already a party to the MOU, and has an excellent working relationship with the School District. Minister Bowinn Ma is quoted in the announcement, saying the Province is “pleased to work with the Township of Langley and the Langley School District.” As a partner, they have already “intervened”, but it is sadly typical of this Mayor to treat partners as adversaries. The Province also noted the current Willoughby Elementary “remains a safe learning environment” — this is a land deal Woodward wants, not a rescue mission for the school.
5. The pool and library were never SD35’s job
The resident’s question was about the school, the pool, and the library. School trustees don’t build pools or libraries — the Willoughby community centre is a Township project, start to finish. And the Township’s own paper trail on that project shows it has sat in “study/design” status for years, with a terminated construction posting and a quiet budget reduction. And remember: the community centre was first planned for parkland the Township already owns in south Yorkson — a faster, cheaper site — until the mayor wanted it moved onto the school property, adding the price of a school to the price of a pool.
So what is actually slowing down the pool? Money – and Mayor Woodward’s wild spending spree. The Township’s debt has grown so fast that CBC News calls it “city hall’s biggest debate” (watch the report). Debt payments hit $47 million this year and are headed for $64.2 million by 2030 — figures aired at council’s own budget debate, where Coun. Kunst noted development has slowed, and the developer fees that feed Township coffers have slowed with it. Coun. Blair Whitmarsh has done the math: debt projected to reach $653 million — more than $10,700 per household — with a repayment plan that leans on developer fees that may never arrive, as Woodward’s Community Amenity Contribution scheme was struck down in BC Supreme Court as unlawful. The Township’s latest audited statements show net debt jumping from $8.5 million to $131.1 million in a single year. School trustees are not slowing down the pool. The Township’s mayor and balance sheet is.
6. And here’s the bill: Township taxpayers now pay for two buildings
In B.C., the Provincial Government builds public schools. It paid more than $51.8 million for the new 555-student elementary in Willoughby that opened last year. Under Mayor Woodward’s deal, that flips: the Township — meaning you, the property taxpayer — “would fund the replacement school and lead its design, permitting, and construction,” as his own news release says. No wonder the Province signed on: it saves them tens of millions. Then the Township still has to pay to build the community centre on the old school site.
Read that again. Mayor Woodward has committed Township taxpayers to pay to remove the current Willoughby Elementary and build a new $50-million-plus school — two things the Provincial Government is usually responsible for. Remember: before this deal, the district had a provincially funded $15-million expansion planned for the very same school, at no cost to Township taxpayers. And it’s all before he can break ground on a new Willoughby Community Centre. Because he is fixated on putting the community centre on the site at 208th/80th, he will cost Township taxpayers as much as $60 million more than necessary.
Two big buildings, one set of local taxpayers, stacked on a debt load that already tops $10,000 per household. The feasibility study that would answer how he plans to pay for all that is the Township’s to deliver, and the MOU is still under wraps. Almost like Mayor Woodward doesn’t want you to know with an election looming.
7. “Pushing for three years”? His own council called the idea “punitive” when it surfaced
The land-swap idea first appeared in public on February 24, 2025 — seventeen months ago — when the mayor brought motions to trade Township land for the Willoughby Elementary site and suspend the long-standing school-park land partnership. Killing that historic provision to have the Township buy 5 acres of parkland beside every school drew very strong objections from Langley Strong’s Township councillors: Councillor Kim Richter called it “one of the most punitive, un-collaborative, mean motions that I have seen this council put on table.” The school district wasn’t consulted before the motion appeared — it had been planning a (provincially-funded) $15-million expansion of the existing school. The school district worked with him anyway, and signed on.
The bottom line
The trustees endorsed Woodward’s own deal, unanimously, in writing, in public — and he attacked them by name anyway, accusing elected school trustees of sabotaging a school “for personal political gain.” He offered no evidence. There is none in the public record.
There is a simple way for the Township to show residents who is delaying what: publish the MOU, the Township feasibility study, the funding plan, and the project schedule. Until that happens, remember which partner has put its position on the public record — and which one is working the comment section.
Langley Strong fact-checks claims about Township issues against the public record. Every link above goes to a primary source or published report. Spot a claim that needs checking? Send it to us.
