Osoyoos Councillor C.J. Rhodes made a passionate plea to school trustees to do the right thing, but their votes were already decided and the 14 people who spoke failed to sway them as the board voted 4-3 to close Osoyoos Secondary School. (Richard McGuire photo)
The Town of Osoyoos is going to court following a 4-3 vote by the board of School District 53 on the final reading of a bylaw to close Osoyoos Secondary School (OSS).
Parents had planned to blockade the intersection of Highway 97 and Highway 3 in Osoyoos Thursday morning in protest, but after receiving legal advice, this action was called off.
Mayor Sue McKortoff said she and other town officials and members of the community have already had affidavits prepared, ready to proceed with court action. The town is likely to seek an immediate injunction to temporarily stop the closure of OSS. This could be followed by a judicial inquiry or other legal action.
The 4-3 vote went the same way as the votes on April 6 at a special board meeting when a motion to close the school was passed and followed with first and second readings of the bylaw. As there was no unanimous consent at the time, third reading had to be delayed to the regular board meeting of April 27.
The two Oliver trustees — Rob Zandee and Rachel Allenbrand — were joined by Debbie Marten of Cawston-Keremeos and Sam Hancheroff of Okanagan Falls in voting to close the school.
Those voting against were the two Osoyoos trustees, June Harrington and Marieze Tarr, as well as Cawston-Keremeos trustee Myrna Coates.
More than 120 people squeezed into the boardroom to watch the meeting, which saw the trustees frequently struggling to be heard over jeers from the crowd. Several times Tarr called for order, as raucous members of the public shouted and booed over trustee statements.
Fourteen members of the public addressed the board during a 30-minute question period, most of whom criticized the trustees for their handling of the situation, or pleaded with them to keep the school open.
MORE TO COME
RICHARD McGUIRE (with files from Trevor Nichols)
Osoyoos Times
