Mayor Sue McKortoff. (Richard McGuire file photo)
The Town of Osoyoos is making a last-ditch attempt to get School District 53 to delay the closure of any Osoyoos schools until a regional stakeholder committee can look for solutions.
Mayor Sue McKortoff sent a letter Monday to school board Chair Marieze Tarr telling her that town council doesn’t accept the closure of Osoyoos Secondary School (OSS) as the solution to SD 53’s budgetary problems. That letter has now been posted on the town’s website.
McKortoff said the town has received support for a regional stakeholder committee from Education Minister Mike Bernier, MLA Linda Larson, council and the Osoyoos public.
As well, she said, other local governments support the town in this matter and need to be part of a shared solution.
The mayor also suggested cost savings by sharing services with municipalities and the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen should be explored.
This could include grass-cutting, use of community libraries, providing funds, reviewing utility charges and implementing changes in joint use agreements to allow SD 53 to reduce its costs.
She also suggested that the school board should revisit the idea of closing Tuc-el-Nuit Elementary school and implementing capital changes to Oliver Elementary School to handle additional students.
“By all appearances, this is the best option as all students will remain in their communities and no negative impacts will occur for any community,” she wrote.
McKortoff also pointed out that Tarr’s explanation for the decision to close OSS has shifted from a budgetary issue to one of quality of education available to secondary students.
Osoyoos parents haven’t expressed any dissatisfaction with the quality of education their children are receiving at OSS, and education results indicate the school is meeting or exceeding provincial averages, McKortoff said.
“There is no guarantee that quality of education and overall personal development of OSS students will be improved by a move to SOSS (Southern Okanagan Secondary School),” McKortoff wrote.
Tarr apparently raised a similar concern about education quality at OSS in a meeting Feb. 23 with representatives of parent advisory councils of the two Osoyoos schools, according to notes posted on the SD 53 website.
The meeting was told that among the reasons for considering school closures, “parents were expressing concern regarding options for students at high school.”
Questioned how many parents had expressed concerns about the need for more opportunity for students, the response was: “Around 10 parents at least.”
McKortoff also said the school district has not given a clear account of net savings and costs of closing OSS, including providing full calculation of busing costs.
“The Osoyoos public is not convinced that the budget figures are sufficiently transparent to merit the closure of OSS,” she said.
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
