Marieze Tarr, school board chair, said trustees want more information from the province before they can decide whether to reverse the decision to close OSS. (Richard McGuire file photo)
The future of Osoyoos Secondary School (OSS) remains in limbo after School District 53 board of trustees chair Marieze Tarr announced Thursday night the board wants several important questions answered from the Ministry of Education and provincial Liberal government before deciding whether or not to alter its decision to close the school.
In a moment of immense irony, Tarr announced at a ceremony held in the school gymnasium to remember the school’s 37-year history that the board needs answers to “some very important questions” before making any decision on being willing to change its mind on closing OSS .
OSS is set for permanent closure on June 30 after trustees voted in late April by a vote of 4-3 in favour of a motion to close the school.
However, things changed dramatically on Wednesday afternoon when the Premier Christy Clark, Education Minister Mike Bernier and Boundary-Similkameen MLA Linda Larson announced the formation of a Rural Education Enhancement Fund
Just two weeks before nine rural schools were set for closure, the provincial government announced it was committing $2.7 million to keep nine rural schools open in B.C., including OSS.
At the emotional ceremony, where numerous current students and current and former teachers spoke of their fond memories of time spent at OSS, Tarr said the board of trustees is “very happy with the decision” by the province to provide additional funding to rural school districts.
“We are very happy the government is going to change the funding formula for rural schools,” she said.
After trustees met on Thursday at the SD 53 office in Oliver, Tarr said they sent a message to the Ministry of Education and provincial government asking for a clear explanation on certain important questions relating to Wednesday’s funding announcement.
After Thursday’s meeting, Tarr said the board wants clear assurances the funding announced would be long term and ongoing and sufficient to meet the challenges faced by rural school districts now and in the future.
“The board has requested some further details … as soon as we have further direction, we will be making an announcement that we will share with all of you,” said Tarr.
Tarr apologized to the 250 in attendance “for the emotional rollercoaster” that has enveloped the community over the past several weeks since the school closure was announced.
“We feel bad for what all of you have had to go through during this difficult time,” she said.
Tarr hinted that if the Ministry of Education commits to providing long-term sustainable funding to rural school districts that continue to face financial stresses due to declining enrolment, the trustees would be willing to revisit the motion to close OSS.
She also acknowledged that with the school set to close in two weeks, time is of the essence and she hopes the Ministry of Education will respond to the board’s questions and concerns in a very timely manner.
During public consultation meetings in Osoyoos, the school district announced closing OSS for the 2016-17 school year would result in close to $400,000 in annual savings.
The province announced the rural enhancement fund would provide school districts with an amount equal to their expected savings from closing the school.
Districts outside Greater Victoria, the Lower Mainland, and Kelowna would be able to apply for ongoing provincial funding that recognizes the unique challenges faced in keeping schools open in rural communities.
“Closing the only high school or elementary school in a rural community has a large impact on that local economy,” Clark said. “With Canada’s strongest economy, it’s important that we make sure the benefits are shared by rural communities throughout our province to ensure they have the infrastructure they need to grow, attract talent, and provide critical services like health care. Our rural education strategy will help us accomplish this.”
Boundary-Similkameen MLA Linda Larson, in a phone interview from Quesnel where she and members of the Liberal caucus had gathered for meetings, said shortly after the announcement she fully expects OSS to remain open.
Larson was officially named parliamentary secretary for rural education in the same press release that announced the funding to rural schools on Wednesday.
This new funding will be in addition to the $118,000 Larson announced to School District 53 two weeks ago as part of $25 million in administrative savings given back to school districts across the province.
“The ultimate decision still lies with the school board … but having removed the biggest obstacle to keeping the school open, which is financial, it’s now up to them to come up with a different arrangement since they’ve now been given the money they need to keep the school open,” said Larson.
While school districts will have to “to apply” for funding, Larson said the money is available and can be forwarded to affected school districts in a very short time period.
“School districts have until June 30 to submit their budgets … and this money will be available to them long before this deadline,” she said.
The decision to approve this funding came after Clark and the Ministry of Education agreed that local economies would suffer immensely if these rural schools were closed, said Larson.
“There’s no doubt that local economies would suffer immensely if these schools close,” she said. “It just made a lot of sense to ensure local economies could be sustained by providing the funding to keep those rural schools open.”
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
