MLA Linda Larson is hoping the funding will help save Osoyoos Secondary School from closure.
It’s now up to the same School District 53 trustees who voted to close Osoyoos Secondary School (OSS) to get back to work and do “whatever it takes” to keep OSS open for the 2016-17 school year, said Boundary-Similkameen MLA Linda Larson Tuesday morning.
After meeting with Mayor Sue McKortoff and members of town council, Larson announced just outside council chambers – with a group of more than 100 local residents anxiously looking on – that the provincial government is providing the Okanagan-Similkameen School District 53 with $118,102 in funding.
There were rumours the provincial government would be handing out millions of dollars on Tuesday to keep several rural schools across the South Okanagan open, but that was not the case.
She also called for the funding to be used by School District 53 trustees to “save Osoyoos Secondary School.”
Marieze Tarr, chair of School District 53, was not invited to Tuesday’s funding announcement and could not be reached for comment before Tuesday’s press deadline.
The funding is just the first step in Larson’s plan to resolve the cost pressures being faced by trustees to save OSS from closure.
School District 53 also has a “significant budget surplus” that is to be directed towards ensuring OSS remains open, but she would not divulge that figure or which area of the overall budget that money would come from, said Larson.
“I’m looking forward to working with the school district, school board, parents and the Town of Osoyoos to find a way to save Osoyoos Secondary School,” said Larson. “Between the $118,102 in money that I have announced today, and other possibilities such as using the (school) property to generate other revenue, I believe we have a viable plan to keep OSS open.
“Throughout the last few months, many of my constituents have asked me what I would do to help save our school. In that time, I have been working with the Minister of Education on ways to save this school and am very pleased with the new funding to help this goal that we have announced today.’
School districts across the province have made real efforts to reduce spending on their administrative costs over the past several years and those efforts have made it possible to help flow those resources into classrooms and services for students, said Larson.
“The amount of money being left with districts is equal to the Year 2 of administrative savings districts were asked to find,” she said. “School districts, including School District 53, have been informed that they will not have to pay their share of the $25 million worth of provincial charges this year and instead can direct that money into frontline services for students.”
When asked if the funding announcement on Tuesday had to go to any specific area within the School District 53 budget, Larson said Education Minister Mike Bernier wasn’t putting any parameters on spending, but she fully expected the trustees to use it as part of finding solutions to keep OSS open.
Larson highlighted that the Town of Osoyoos offered more than $1 million in funding – just over $350,000 annually for the next three years – to keep OSS open, which was rejected by the trustees.
It’s now up to those same trustees to work diligently over the next month to do whatever is necessary to keep OSS open, said Larson.
“It’s now up to them to do the right thing and keep that school open … the ball is in their court,” she said.
The provincial government is making several funding announcements across the province to keep rural schools scheduled for closure open after months of public consultation, said Larson.
The money became only available late last week because “that’s how long it took” to complete the consultation process and access the money from the provincial treasury, she said.
When asked why the provincial government doesn’t increase education spending as demanded by so many school districts across the province, Larson responded that more than 30 per cent of the provincial budget now goes to education and there isn’t a limitless amount that can be spent.
The Liberal government is committed to taking another look at how rural schools are funded as they are facing extra cost pressures due to declining enrolment in many areas, she said.
While she respects all of the efforts that have been made by the Osoyoos Independent School (OIS) committee since it was formed after trustees voted to close OSS in late April, Larson said students in small rural communities like Osoyoos are best served by a public education system.
Larson said she is ready and willing to meet with trustees, town councillors, members of the Parents Advisory Council and town administration to come up with a plan to try and save OSS from closure at any time over the coming weeks.
When asked if the trustees could take this $118,000 and buy two new school buses, Larson said that’s not what’s expected.
“I expect them to do the right thing for the Town of Osoyoos,” she said. “This money today is just opening the door and giving them more tools” to keep the school open.
McKortoff admitted she was disappointed by the amount of funding provided by Larson, but was encouraged by her strong words that she expects trustees to do whatever it takes to keep OSS open.
“I would certainly have liked more money,” she said. “But the bottom line is we have to try and keep the school open.”
McKortoff said she, like Larson, is willing and able to meet with trustees at any time in the coming weeks to come up with a plan to keep OSS open.
The fact the movement to open an independent school in Osoyoos continues and the town’s legal action against the Ministry of Education makes for a very complicated scenario, said McKortoff.
“I really don’t know what to think to be quite honest,” she said.
Even though council’s offer of more than $1 million over three years to keep OSS open was rejected by trustees, McKortoff said she wasn’t sure if Tuesday’s announcement might change their minds or if the offer could be revisited.
The fact Larson expects the trustees to come up with the plan to keep the school open was the best news of the day, said McKortoff.
“Let’s hope the School District is listening,” she said. “We’re willing to work with the trustees and School District to make this happen. That’s all we can do.”
Brenda Dorosz, the founder of the Osoyoos Independent School Committee, said she was deeply disappointed with Tuesday’s funding announcement.
“They (trustees) turned down more than $350,000 a year from the town … I don’t see how another $118,000 is going to make a difference when it comes to keeping our school open. “It’s just not enough.”
Trustees have to present a balanced budget to the province by June 30, so that gives them less than one month to come up with a plan to keep OSS open, she said.
The four trustees who voted to close the school haven’t shown any inclination to do anything progressive to keep OSS open and she’s not optimistic that will change, despite the warnings from Larson.
“I don’t have any faith in them to make the right decision,” she said.
More than 60 students have registered for the independent school and registration continued on Tuesday and Wednesday, she said.
By Keith Lacey
