High school students in Osoyoos will not be returning to their school next year since the district voted to close it down to address its deficit. Photo by Richard McGuire
Osoyoos Secondary School is officially shutting down.
The closure was made official April 27, when the board of School District 53 gave final approval to a bylaw that will see the school shuttered and its students bussed to Southern Okanagan Secondary School in Oliver, beginning next year.
In response to the vote, Osoyoos Mayor Sue McKortoff threatened legal action against the board of trustees, saying she has lawyers looking into the possibility of an injunction against them “for not handling the whole situation correctly.”
“Have they done absolutely everything in their power to look at all the suggestions that came forward from the committee, from the community in the last three months? I’m not sure,” she said.
“We have lawyers that are looking into whether the process was done properly [and] we will now let them deal with it.”
McKortoff’s comments came in the wake of the board’s refusal to accept money from the town of Osoyoos to keep the school open.
In a letter to the school district dated April 19, Osoyoos council offered, among other things, an “annual grant of $352,000 for three years in order to retain the services of OSS.”
In a letter of response, the board of trustees declined the money, saying that accepting outside funding from the town would undermine the School Act and promote a situation where education quality would be linked to the wealth in a community.
“We are morally opposed to being a part of or setting a precedent for a two-tiered education system in our province where our schools or programs could be decided by the affluence of a neighbourhood,” Zandee said at the April 27 meeting.
Zandee was one of four trustees to vote for the school closure bylaw, along with Rachel Allenbrand, Debbie Marten and Sam Hancheroff. Myrna Coates, June Harrington and Chairperson Marieze Tarr voted against.
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.
In a statement before the vote, Allenbrand told the packed meeting room that declining enrolment and a looming deficit had forced the board’s hand.
“We have already made cuts, and the cuts are getting deeper. The cuts are bleeding the system of quality education…,” she said, eliciting groans of displeasure from the crowd.
Allenbrand continued, saying she had heard concerns about bussing, bullying and the economic impacts of closing the Osoyoos school, but very little about the actual education of the kids.
“During the discussions what was noticeably absent was any real talk about education,” she said, adding that the board’s responsibility is primarily to ensure students get the best education.
“The role of a trustee is not to ensure a community’s viability; that is the concern of town council. It is not our job to look after the economic well-being of the communities; that is the job of council. It is not our obligation to enhance an economy, or to attract young families to our town, that responsibility rests with the municipalities and the town council.”
Several trustees also commented on the conduct of both Osoyoos residents and elected officials, calling them out for their “unprofessional” behaviour, particularly in the weeks leading up to the final vote.
“Lately I’ve been very saddened by the actions of some people in the community. It’s been unproductive, it’s been unprofessional, and it’s unbecoming of not only elected officials and members of the community,” Zandee said, as more jeers erupted.
“We know Rob, you’re the victim,” an audience member shouted.
Coates, who voted against the motion to close the school, echoed Zandee’s sentiments.
“Unfortunately, over the last three weeks trustees and staff have been targeted both in the media and by verbal attacks with attempts to intimidate, with the building of slander groups, and with the throwing of abusive threats.
“These actions have been encouraged by community leaders: this is wrong,” she said.
Fourteen members of the public also 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.
Many mentioned what they felt was the board’s lack of any meaningful communication in the lead up to the vote. One audience member criticized it for “building a wall” around itself, while another pointed out many community members felt the entire process was a sham, and that the decision had already been made before public consultation began.
Michelle Fritz was one of those people.
“There was no discussion with the town, it was a decision made… it hasn’t felt like it was a genuine process, and that’s why our town is upset. It’s just because it hasn’t felt honest and transparent and understandable to the layperson.”
“To the layperson none of it makes sense – because there’s been black and white solutions, and they’ve been met with no’s,” she said.
By Trevor Nichols
