Rob Fleming, provincial NDP Education Critic, ridiculed the suggestion by Education Minister Mike Bernier that the decision to close schools lies solely with local school board. The problem, he said, is cuts in the provincial government’s education funding, which is forcing school boards to close schools to deal with budget shortfalls. (Richard McGuire photo)
The NDP’s education critic Rob Fleming received a standing ovation during a community forum on possible school closures in Osoyoos Tuesday night when he lashed out at the provincial Liberal government for severe funding cutbacks to education.
Fleming, the MLA for Victoria-Swan Lake, spent all day Tuesday in Osoyoos meeting with parents and business and community leaders before joining 650 local residents at the Sonora Community Centre for a second community information session about a recommendation from School District 53 trustees to close either Osoyoos Secondary School (OSS) or Osoyoos Elementary School.
Under the first option, more than 300 Osoyoos students would be bused to attend Southern Okanagan Secondary School in Oliver starting in September. Under the second option, Osoyoos Elementary School would close and the current OSS would be converted to a kindergarten to Grade 8 school and students in Grades 10 to 12 would attend school at SOSS.
Fleming began his three-minute presentation – all speakers on Tuesday night were limited to three minutes by moderator Brian Pepper (a former school district superintendent from Prince George) – stating how disappointed was that local MLA Linda Larson wasn’t in attendance.
Larson’s assertion that her presence would not be appropriate as the decision about school closures is strictly a local matter to be determined by local trustees doesn’t wash, said Fleming.
“That is not how it works … education is a provincial responsibility,” he said.
The reality is the province collects billions of dollars in taxes and gives trustees across the province “a small bag of money” to run the education system and the amount has been dwindling with each passing year for more many years, said Fleming.
British Columbia now ranks ninth of out 10 provinces in per-capita student funding and provides over $1,000 less per student than that provided to the average Canadian attending elementary or high school, he said.
“It’s getting worse,” he said.
School board trustees are faced with the unenviable job of declining enrolment, which means reduced funding, while Premier Christy Clark travels across the province in a private jet costing over $500,000 per year, said Fleming.
“We need to fight back for education funding,” he said.
The provincial government knows that when a school is closed, it will never open again and that’s what will happen if School District 53 trustees close a school in Osoyoos, he said.
Fleming said his government would pour tens of millions of dollars into restoring adequate levels of education funding very quickly after being elected in the next provincial election in the fall of 2017.
“My message is hang in there,” he said to the hundreds of parents and students in attendance.
Former Osoyoos mayor Stu Wells was one of several municipal politicians who met with Fleming before the community meeting.
Wells said closing a school in Osoyoos would, as many have made very clear, have devastating economic and social impact in this town for generations to come.
“This should not be a collateral damage issue for Osoyoos,” he said.
It makes much more sense for the trustees to look at the option of combining the two elementary schools in Oliver, “so Oliver kids can stay in Oliver and Osoyoos kids can stay in Osoyoos. That makes sense.”
Mark Pendergraft, chair of the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen, said he was part of the last graduating class from SOSS before OSS opened in 1981.
“It was not a bad experience, but I would have much preferred going to school in Osoyoos,” he said. “I ask you to consider all options and at the very minimum, delay your decision for at least one year. I urge you to reconsider (closing any school) at this time.”
Osoyoos Mayor Sue McKortoff said several viable options to reduce costs and increase revenue for the school district have been offered to the trustees and all should be considered before any school is closed.
Some of those options include combining library resources with the Okanagan Regional Library, sharing the costs to manage school properties, encouraging Okanagan College to sign an agreement to share school facilities across the district and raising taxes for district residents that would go directly to education, said McKortoff.
Osoyoos is committed to attracting young families to this community by pursuing affordable housing options and this would mean more children attending local schools, she said.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
Stu Wells, former Osoyoos mayor, argued that if a school closed, the impact on the community would be “collateral damage.” (Richard McGuire photo)
Mark Pendergraft, chair of the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen and Area A director, asked trustees at the very least to delay their decision for a year. (Richard McGuire photo)
Rob Fleming, the NDP education critic, ridiculed the suggestion by the B.C. Liberals that a school closure is strictly a local issue, a pretext used by MLA Linda Larson for not attending. “That is not how it works … education is a provincial responsibility,” he said. (Richard McGuire photo)
NDP Education Critic Rob Fleming received a standing ovation for his strong advocacy for adequate provincial education funding. (Richard McGuire photo)
Martha Collins expresses appreciation to Rob Fleming, NDP education critic, after he gave some strong remarks calling for the provincial government to provide adequate funding to school districts so they aren’t forced to close schools. (Richard McGuire photo)
Sue McKortoff, Osoyoos mayor, pointed to some of the suggestions that have been made to reduce education costs and she called for a moratorium on the school closures. (Richard McGuire photo)
After the meeting, former Osoyoos mayor Stu Wells (left), Brenda Dorosz, chair of Save Our Schools, and Rob Fleming, NDP Education Critic, chatted and posed for a few photos. Dorosz said she invited a number of provincial politicians, including MLA Linda Larson, Premier Christy Clark and Education Minister Mike Bernier, but of those she invited, Fleming was the only one who showed up to head what was said. (Richard McGuire photo)
