Rob Fleming, provincial NDP Education Critic, hopes the government’s announcement Wednesday will save Osoyoos Secondary School, but he thinks the B.C. Liberal government is in “full panic mode” and its announcements are “highly improvised.” (Richard McGuire Photo).
The B.C. government is “in full panic mode” with Wednesday’s announcement of new funding to keep schools like Osoyoos Secondary (OSS) open, says NDP Education Critic Rob Fleming.
Nonetheless, he’s hopeful that the belated announcement will do the trick.
“There is a spectacular feat of political gymnastics going on with this government,” said Fleming. “The announcement has very few details, but at the end of the day if this means that Osoyoos will keep it’s secondary school, that’s what’s important.”
The government’s Rural Education Enhancement Fund announced Wednesday would provide funding to offset any savings a school district might achieve by closing a rural school that meets certain criteria. Money must be used to keep the school open and school districts must apply for it.
OSS is among nine schools the government has said would qualify.
Fleming believes the only reason that the government has stepped forward with this funding, only days before the June 30 school district budget deadline, is public pressure.
“Communities like Osoyoos have been standing up to a person for their kids and for their schools,” said Fleming. “They have forced the government and dragged it kicking and streaming.”
He credits parents, community leaders, local government officials and business leaders for speaking loudly with a united voice.
In addition to the lack of details, Fleming is also concerned that school districts will need to reapply for these funds every year.
“It would be much more reasonable to give school districts something more reasonable like three to five years assurance that their funding will be intact,” he said.
He’s also concerned that some suburban schools as well as schools that were forced to close in previous years won’t be eligible.
Fleming was cautious when asked what he thought about the appointment of MLA Linda Larson as parliamentary secretary for rural education.
“It remains to be seen what she will do with this appointment,” he said. “It is interesting that she has apparently evolved from taking a firm position that MLAs should not be involved in school closure discussions… Is she the right person now to disavow all those views she held only weeks ago, in an exercise that analyzes rural education and produces something useful? I don’t know. I hope so.”
Fleming says Larson and Premier Christy Clark have completely backpedaled from pointing fingers at the school district and denying there is a funding crisis in public education in B.C.
“Having to deal with the fallout from a funding crisis of their own making is quite the spectacle,” he said.
Referring to “botched announcements, some as recently as a couple weeks ago that didn’t make any difference,” Fleming said there have been anxieties, false expectations and hopes raised, only to be dashed.
“When you pull back the curtain on how the machinery of this government works, it’s not a pretty sight,” said Fleming. “But all that’s important is Osoyoos to keep its high school open at this time.”
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
