Dear Editor:
The provincial government spent several million dollars building a new secondary school in Oliver that was far from 95 per cent full.
Southern Okanagan Secondary School enrolment was less than 450 students when approval was given by the Ministry of Education to rebuild the school to a capacity of 550 students after the fire that destroyed most of the school back in 2011.
This enrolment figure was miraculously upgraded to 700 students when that number would justify closing Osoyoos Secondary School.
Based on an email I received from an employee of the provincial government, the overbuild of SOSS was a “mistake.”
How convenient for the trustees, the superintendent of School District 53 and the provincial government.
This “mistake” gave the trustees the leverage to close the OSS and without it, the closing of our secondary school in Osoyoos would not have ever been an option.
In politics, there is a little thing called the smell test – and this stinks.
Apparently in School District 53, two wrongs do make a right.
In comparison to the massive sums of money spent on SOSS, the pittance required to bring the OSS up to code should be less than a footnote in the school district’s budget.
Close to $250,000 was supposed to be spent upgrading the OSS shop ventilation system last year.
What did the school board do with that money? Presenting these repairs as justification to close OSS is self-serving and shameful.
I am sure if push came to shove, The Town of Osoyoos would gladly pay for the necessary upgrades to our high school.
I am also sure the board would not accept the money as it would somehow provide the Osoyoos students with an advantage not available to other less caring communities.
What planet does this board of trustees live on?
There are many secondary schools in B.C. that have far fewer students than Osoyoos.
The students in those rural communities will survive and thrive without all of the fancy gadgets and extra courses being touted as the reason for closing OSS.
Online courses are the way of the future and will soon be providing education to most of the population of the world.
How many of you have participated in or heard of a webinar?
To portray this method of education as a disadvantage to Osoyoos secondary students shows how out of touch the board is with current and future education practices.
The same old rhetoric that keeps coming from this board would be laughable if it wasn’t so serious.
The board was not elected on the platform of closing OSS and busing its students to Oliver. Under no circumstances do they have the moral authority to proceed with closing OSS until a referendum is held to support their position.
Bricks and mortar do not make a school. Dedicated teachers in smaller schools that foster the personal touch approach to education provide a far better service to students than large factory schools can ever hope to.
The very reasons given by the board for closing OSS are the reasons it must not be closed and must remain as an integral part of the Osoyoos community.
The citizens of Osoyoos must fight to the bitter end to prevent this injustice from happening.
Martin Sadd
Osoyoos, B.C.
