In less than a week, on April 6, the board of School District 53 will vote on whether to move forward with closing an Osoyoos school.

At that point we will learn whether trustees have actually been listening to the Osoyoos community, or whether their minds were made up in January and they were simply going through the motions of public consultations.

At the beginning of March, we wrote in this space that the Town of Osoyoos needed to come up with two key things if it really wants to keep both schools in town.

• It needs to show there is a plan for growth and for attracting young families to the community;

• It should be prepared to provide funding to help the school district through its present budget crunch.

We think town council has delivered. Furthermore, the entire community has been almost unanimous that both schools in Osoyoos must remain open.

Mayor Sue McKortoff’s most recent letter shows that the Town of Osoyoos is prepared to provide funding and to share expenses with the school district. But the town makes the entirely reasonable request that the board delay its decision so that a regional stakeholders’ group can examine and implement the solutions.

McKortoff points out that there is support from Education Minister Mike Bernier, MLA Linda Larson, council and the Osoyoos public for this approach.

Last week the Town of Osoyoos also took a major step towards developing affordable housing suitable for attracting young families to the community. The town is selling at least 20 lots in the Richter property remainder to a builder, a first step in the development of the 300-home Southeast Meadowlark subdivision.

All these lots will be medium density and housing will be priced to what first-time homebuyers and young families can afford – some of it subsidized.

Combined with strong evidence that we are entering a baby boom – which should be borne out when this year’s census data is available – the enrolment projections of the school district will soon prove no longer to be accurate.

The school district does indeed face a difficult funding situation due to a combination of declining enrolment and downloaded expenses imposed by the provincial government, which has not provided the necessary funding to pay for them.

But, by using reserves, by taking the municipal help offered to them and by implementing efficiencies, the school district has the means to delay the closure decision at least a year to allow the entire district’s stakeholders to find solutions.

The resistance of school district administration and chair Marieze Tarr to such suggestions as a four-day school week and cancelling the Network Leaders program leads many to believe that there is a hidden agenda at play.

Southern Okanagan Secondary School (SOSS) in Oliver was overbuilt, many believe, because the plan all along was to close OSS and bus students to Oliver.

If this is indeed the agenda, then the school board will likely vote April 6 to proceed with closure.

If, however, the board is truly interested in finding solutions, the proposals by McKortoff and Osoyoos council provide that avenue.

It will only take four trustees to vote for a delay, and trustee June Harrington has consistently supported the Osoyoos schools.

Tarr at times has seemed too close to the wishes of district administration, but hopefully enough has been said to persuade her to vote in support of the community she represents.

We hope that the non-Osoyoos trustees will understand the devastation a closure would cause Osoyoos and appreciate their community might be next.

The only reasonable option is a one-year delay to find solutions.