Osoyoos town council wants to meet B.C. Premier Christy Clark to discuss the process that almost closed Osoyoos Secondary School. (Richard McGuire photo)
Mike Bernier, B.C. Minister of Education
Town of Osoyoos council has requested a meeting with Premier Christy Clark and Minister of Education Mike Bernier to discuss their many concerns over the process that allowed trustees from outside this community to vote to close Osoyoos Secondary School (OSS).
During a Committee of the Whole (COW) Tuesday morning at town council, local MLA Linda Larson met with members of council to discuss with them their top priorities when they participate in the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) annual convention set for Sept. 26-30 in Victoria.
As detailed by Barry Romanko, the town’s chief administrative officer, council’s top priority has clearly been identified as meeting with Clark and Bernier to discuss the process that allowed for trustees from outside this community to vote to close OSS and look at solutions that would make it more difficult for schools to close, especially in rural communities like Osoyoos.
“We have submitted four ministerial meeting requests … and we prioritized them,” said Romanko.
The first priority clearly identified by Mayor Sue McKortoff and members of council were to request a face-to-face meeting with Clark and Bernier, said Romanko.
“The closure of our school was top of mind,” he said.
Council would like to enter into serious discussions with the premier and minister about the “process that allowed this to happen.”
Council would also like to discuss the issue of whether the funding the provincial government provided through the Rural Education Enhancement Fund (REEF) that saved OSS from closure would be continued beyond the two years promised by the current government, said Romanko.
Council would also like to discuss possible changes to the provincial Education Act that would make it much more difficult for trustees to vote to close schools, especially in rural communities like Osoyoos, he said.
The current rules allowed four trustees who don’t live in Osoyoos to vote to close OSS and Osoyoos town council would like to discuss possible revisions to the act to prevent this from happening again, said Romanko.
“A simple majority doesn’t work in the current regional system,” he said.
Council feels this issue is important enough to request the meeting with the Minister of Education and the Premier, he said.
The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) has also requested a similar meeting with Clark and Bernier to voice their concerns over school closures across the district, he said.
McKortoff said the battle by local residents, business owners, students and community leaders gained national attention and was a big reason why OSS was saved from closure after months of uncertainty, so it’s important this issue be discussed at the highest levels of the provincial government.
“I think we were sort of front and centre … and it reached a lot of people,” she said. “That’s why we feel it’s so important to meet with the Premier and Minister of Education.”
Coun. Mike Campol reiterated that he believe it’s very important local councillors be able to express their concerns over the process that allowed trustees to vote to close OSS, rather than focusing on the fact the school was saved from closure at the last minute.
Larson said she would approach Clark and Bernier and inform them that the delegation from Osoyoos has made meeting them its top priority heading to the UBCM convention.
Romanko said another top priority council would like Larson to pursue leading up to the UBCM convention includes trying to arrange a meeting with Minister of Finance Shirley Bond to stress the importance of continuing the Resort Municipality Initiative (RMI) program beyond 2017.
Osoyoos is one of 14 resort municipalities in B.C. that receive annual funding that allows them to complete infrastructure projects that enhance the community and help promote tourism in their respective areas.
Osoyoos has received more than $ 4 million in RMI funding over the past several years, which has allowed them to complete numerous community projects, including the recent upgrades to Gyro Park.
Council has approved a motion that would see representatives from all 14 resort municipalities be able to make a joint presentation to Bond to get across the benefits of this program and its need to continue, said Romanko.
Finally, the fourth and final request made by council would be a meeting with Todd Stone, the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, to voice concerns over the growing number of private signs being placed on or near Hwy. 97 between Osoyoos and Oliver, said Romanko.
“There has been a continued proliferation of those signs,” said Romanko.
Town councils from both Osoyoos and Oliver have voiced their frustration to the ministry in the past, but very little is being done to enforce regulations now in place to prevent more signs from popping up, he said.
“Both councils wanted this to succeed, but it has not succeeded,” he said.
Osoyoos council has committed to upgrading Main Street through the downtown core, including a storm sewer system upgrade and possible repaving, but needs provincial support to pay half the costs and this could also be discussed during a meeting with Stone, said Romanko.
Larson said the RMI program has been very beneficial to all resort municipalities and she will try and arrange a meeting between Bond and Osoyoos councillors during the UBCM convention.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
