We don’t envy the school board that is painfully stuck between a rock and a hard place right now.
On one hand it must balance the budget by dealing with a $500,000 structural deficit. On the other it has more than 1,000 people opposed to the controversial option of closing one of its schools.
Not that we’re complaining, but some people agree it is a little strange that the school board is only focusing on the Osoyoos community and not Oliver that has two elementary schools (while Osoyoos only has one).
We think Osoyoos parents and town officials are more than justified in their concerns. Closing the high school or elementary school would be a big blow to the community, and would not entice new families or businesses to move there.
We tend to agree that closing a school should be a last resort. Why not look more closely at senior management positions or a four-day school week? The kids would love that idea, however, vulnerable students who need the extra help would not benefit from this idea.
The point is there must be other ways to save money than closing a school and uprooting children in their own community. But the school board has a point that many people seem to be ignoring – any more cuts they make will negatively impact the classroom and student learning. That’s why the board is focusing on its facilities.
We found a recent statement by Osoyoos resident Brenda Dorosz to be nothing more than conjecture. She said there would be increased bullying against Osoyoos students if they were bussed to Oliver. Sure, there is some rivalry, but to suggest that Oliver students would be responsible for more bullying is not based on fact, but fear mongering.
But back to the issue.
Too bad school boards couldn’t stand together against the provincial government and refuse to close schools to balance their budgets.
It’s time we said “enough” to the cutbacks, enough with forcing boards to make decisions that negatively impact our children. Soon, Oliver could be in the same boat as Osoyoos in trying to save our schools from closure.
