Dear Editor:

There are so many things wrong with School District 53’s proposal to recommend that closure of schools in Osoyoos that it’s hard to know where to start.

I’ve attended both public meetings and read and researched all I could find on the topic, and here is my take.

The Ministry of Education continues to reduce its funding for our children – B.C. currently has the second lowest spending per pupil, after P.E.I., in spite of B.C.’s high cost of living.

Local school boards are told to balance their budget or be fired. The B.C. government should hold itself to the same standard.

Further, the Ministry of Education has delegated the authority to close down a school to a local school board made up of a small group of locally-elected residents, who understandably have ties to their own particular community. This is only asking for trouble, especially in smaller communities.

The school board doesn’t even have a bylaw in place requiring a certain percentage vote (eg.75 per cent) to make such a significant and impactful decision.

Our School District 53 trustees, who by the way are using our tax money (it’s not the government’s money) to manage the district, approved an expenditure of $271,000 for a sawdust collector machine for the Osoyoos high school on Dec, 9, 2015.

The very next day, Minister of Education, Mike Bernier met with the SD 53 board in camera and toured Oliver Elementary as well as SOSS.

Following this, a special regular board meeting was held on Jan. 13, where staff, who were “recently directed by the board”, provided an update on the now infamous ‘facilities report.’

At that meeting just weeks after the Minister’s visit, came the motion “ that the board consider … closure of OSS … or Osoyoos Elementary School.”

You do the math.

Osoyoos Mayor Sue McKortoff hadn’t even been made aware by the board that this motion was being contemplated.

Fortunately, she was tipped off at the last minute by a local reporter who suggested she should go to the school board meeting. So much for communication by the board.

Closure of either Osoyoos school does not make sense. We all know this.

The longwinded presentation by board staff attempted to make it seem sensible.

To quote Mark Thompson, Professor at the UBC’s Sauder School of Business, “You do the research that makes the case you want it to and you forget about the other stuff. In a highly public, politicized environment, the parties choose numbers that support their case.”

Closing either of our schools would be economically devastating for our town as a whole and socially destructive and divisive for our families.

Who would choose to move their family here if it meant no school for Grades 11 and 12? What families will choose to stay here?

And to those of you who don’t have kids in school, don’t think for a minute that your school levy will be reduced off your property taxes.

Take a look at your invoice. It’s between one-third to one half of your total tax bill. You’ll be paying the same taxes and getting less for your money.

The high school in Oliver was overbuilt, either by design or by accident.

Osoyoos enrolment has not decreased and our community should not have to pay the price for decreased enrolment elsewhere. Amalgamation of the two elementary schools in Oliver is the only logical, economic and reasonable solution. This is a win-win solution. Both communities will have facilities for K-12 which is what we all need.

The board’s vote on the motion will take place on April 6, just three weeks away. I am glad to see younger people getting involved in fighting this injustice, because, this is now political.

The board’s proposal doesn’t make sense. It will have a huge impact on our community.

It appears to be a foregone conclusion by the board and their staff that closing an Osoyoos school is the only answer. It’s not the right answer and it’s up to us to refuse to let this happen.

Furthermore, the chair of the board has a right to vote, and in my opinion should cast a vote on behalf of those who voted her to represent their geographic area.

Past chairs voted as a matter of course. I encourage everyone to send individual emails/letters to the board chair telling her you want her to vote to keep Osoyoos schools open.

She can and should vote as our Osoyoos elected representative. I heard her say at one public meeting if she voted she would vote to keep Osoyoos schools open.

Petitions are great, but they are one document. Years ago, my job was to write letters of response on behalf of the federal Minister of Justice to concerned citizens. One petition was one piece of paper. I had to write one letter. He had to sign one letter.

If all 3,000 people who signed the petition also send emails or letters in, it will be much more noticeable and impactful for a politician to have to respond to 3,000 upset constituents.

Mike Bernier is [email protected]. Christy Clark is [email protected].

Let her know what you think too. Her son is in a private school, so she likely doesn’t have firsthand knowledge of publicly run boards and the political interference they can face.

Let’s keep Osoyoos a destination location and great place to raise a family and attend school.

Janis St. Louis

Osoyoos, B.C.