Participants broke off into smaller groups for “table sessions” where they discussed what they would like to see in a future Osoyoos community school. (Richard McGuire photo)
Faced with the impending closure of Osoyoos Secondary School (OSS), many town residents are already moving forward with “Plan B,” an independent community school.
About 300 Osoyoos residents turned out at the Sonora Community Centre last Thursday evening to discuss their ideas for such a school.
Dr. Jason Bartsch, spokesperson for the Osoyoos Community School Committee, outlined some of the options his committee is looking at before participants broke off into smaller groups to discuss their ideas.
“The committee’s objective is to initiate and implement a viable ‘Plan B’ for education in our community,” Bartsch told participants. “Make no mistake. ‘Plan A’ has always been to keep our high school open and that continues to be ‘Plan A.’ But we are equally committed to providing and exploring the viability of a locally driven community school if in fact the local high school is forced to close by School District 53.”
Bartsch said his committee aimed to present current, accurate and honest information about an independent school for Osoyoos.
The committee’s membership fluctuates from meeting to meeting as the process changes, he said, but at the last meeting, 15 attended. These included a number of well-qualified people, some with extensive backgrounds in teaching and school administration.
Bartsch told participants the committee is looking at using the Sonora Community Centre as the location for the new independent high school and said Osoyoos town council would discuss this soon.
Council has already demonstrated its commitment to keeping education in Osoyoos, he said.
Bartsch noted that the needs of other groups using the community centre would need to be taken into consideration.
The only other possible location in Osoyoos is OSS, but that building is controlled by School District 53, he noted.
Because it is difficult for an independent school to obtain funding initially, Bartsch said the committee has been in talks with Studio 9, an independent arts school in Kelowna that approached Osoyoos shortly after the board of School District 53 voted to close OSS on April 6.
“They expressed interest in helping to get our school off the ground,” said Bartsch. “They had a mentor school (when they started) and they see themselves as providing services in that regard.”
The idea would be to form a partnership that would allow Osoyoos to use some of Studio 9’s administrative resources and ability to obtain provincial funding, while designing a school model suited to the Osoyoos community, Bartsch said.
This means, for example, that although Studio 9 is an arts school, Osoyoos could adapt the model to offer trades, sports and arts or whatever else the community decides are priorities.
He pointed out that Studio 9 has a 98 per cent retention rate and has excellent achievement results, but he added that this is just one option the committee is looking at.
In contrast to the distributed learning model adopted in at Seven Summits Learning Centre in Rossland, the Studio 9 model would be a Category 1 independent school, qualifying for 50 per cent of the per-student provincial education funding that public schools receive.
Bartsch said that with a partnership like this, the committee believes it could have an independent school in operation in time for the return of school in early September.
The tuition cost has been a concern for some parents, but Bartsch said this would depend on the number of students enrolled. He encouraged parents and students to confirm their interest if the new school is something they want.
The goal is to use fundraising, public funding and corporate funding to keep costs “nominal and minimal,” he noted.
“We will make your school phenomenal,” Bartsch said.
Meanwhile, town councillor C.J. Rhodes spoke on behalf of the town as acting mayor.
Pointing out that 20 per cent of the Osoyoos community turned out at some of the meetings in the last two months, Rhodes said he was filled with pride.
“The greater Vancouver area has a population base of 2.5 million people,” he said. “That would be the equivalent of 500,000 people showing up for an event in Vancouver. I don’t even think the Rolling Stones could achieve that.”
The town, Rhodes said, is exploring all realistic legal avenues to prevent the closure of OSS. This could include a judicial review of the school board’s decision or a short-term court injunction to stop the closure.
He reiterated that the town is prepared to provide $352,000 annually to the school district over the next three years to keep OSS open as well as exploring other ways of alleviating the school district’s costs with municipal co-operation on a district-wide basis.
Rhodes urged people not to give up and assured them of council’s commitment to keeping education in Osoyoos.
“Town council is not done fighting to keep the school open,” Rhodes said.
Throughout the formal presentations, Kuldeep Rai, a member of the Save Our Schools committee, provided interpretation in Punjabi for the numerous Indo-Canadians who turned out.
After the formal presentation, participants gathered at smaller tables throughout the Sonora Centre’s gymnasium to engage in discussions moderated by volunteers.
Among the topics covered were parent and student expectations for a new school; what participants want the committee and school to deliver in terms of education and outcomes; strategic partnerships for education models and fundraising; and how meeting participants saw themselves participating in the process of creating the new school.
Bartsch also encouraged people to sign up with a “brain bank” outlining their skills and how they can contribute.
“The diversity and experience in this community is something that I am very, very proud of,” said Bartsch. “It would be remiss for us to move forward without delving into that experience, that knowledge and the general combined IQ of this room and the community at large.”
Bartsch said he was allotting 30 minutes for a good discussion in the table sessions.
“If we need more time, I promise I will not cut you off,” he said, in an apparent dig at the way the School District cut off speakers from the community at the “consultation meetings.”
The remark drew some chuckles, but everybody soon got down to serious business.
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
Dr. Jason Bartsch, spokesperson for the Osoyoos Community School Committee, explains what his committee is considering for an independent community school in Osoyoos. (Richard McGuire photo)
Coun. C.J. Rhodes spoke as acting mayor at the meeting. He said the town is looking at several legal options to keep Osoyoos Secondary School open and he urged residents not to give up. (Richard McGuire photo)
Participants broke off into smaller groups for “table sessions” where they discussed what they would like to see in a future Osoyoos community school. (Richard McGuire photo)
