Dear Editor:
As a retired 10 year resident in this community who lives near the Anarchist Mountain summit, I am shocked by last week’s decision by trustees with School District No. 53 and their vote to close Osoyoos Secondary School.
Coming from Europe many years ago, there is an option, to pay and have kids in elite private schools.
We own properties in Osoyoos and have paid school taxes since 1979.
To my knowledge, since we moved here to Canada, there is no student school attendance fee or direct cost for any parents.
It is my opinion that it should not make any difference if in any school, any given year, the number of students enrolled naturally fluctuates.
It is my firm belief that in a functioning society, there needs to be opportunities for all age levels to strive for success.
That is essential given changing economics across the entire country.
Like in any business, there are monthly fixed costs.
A company may be sold, merge, close down or move away.
However, schools provide the base for present and future families to decide to join any community, buy a home or open a business.
These same schools play a crucial and vital role for a healthy society of all ages.
Any community with “only seniors, like ourselves,” will eventually fade and disappear.
With the international trend to move to bigger cities, there is a clear signal that over the past many years, basic services in rural communities and smaller cities, are disappearing.
I hope Osoyoos will not follow that trend.
I’m still hopeful that our local airport will remain open and that our expanding industrial park will still be able to attract new families with young children.
What good is an empty school building?
Thank you for allowing me to write about and discuss an issue that has affected so many members of this community.
Ulric Lejeune
Osoyoos, B.C.
