Brenda Dorosz, who led the fight to save Osoyoos Secondary School, reacts with emotion after trustees voted 5-2 to save the school. (Richard McGuire photo)
There’s been a lot of cheering in Osoyoos since School District 53 trustees voted 5-2 last Thursday to rescind a bylaw that would have closed Osoyoos Secondary School (OSS).
A small group of people from Osoyoos, who squeezed into the cramped seating area in the board room in Oliver as trustees voted, remained muted during proceedings.
Only when Chair Marieze Tarr summed up the outcome, announcing, “Osoyoos Secondary School will be reopening in September,” did the audience burst into cheers.
- VIDEO: Brenda Dorosz reacts minutes after trustees vote 5-2 to save OSS
- VIDEO: Mayor Sue McKortoff comments on decision to save OSS
- VIDEO: MLA Linda Larson announces provincial government will fund full $490,000 requested by School District 53 to save OSS
Trustees spoke of keeping the school open for two more years as the provincial government has only given assurances it will fund OSS for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 school years before the district must reapply.
Tarr noted that there will be a new school board when the matter comes up again. There could also be a change in provincial government after the May 2017 election.
Brenda Dorosz, the parent who led the struggle to keep OSS open, was smiling and crying at the same time as she spoke to reporters after the meeting.
“I’m overjoyed,” she said. “Tears of relief, I guess.”
She admitted that she and others were “panicking in our seats” as trustees took nearly an hour to debate the bylaw to rescind the school closure bylaw they passed in April.
“It’s been very emotional for everybody, and that’s why there’s not as many people here today,” she said.
From Osoyoos Town Council, only Coun. Carol Youngberg attended, but other council members knew the result seconds after the vote, thanks to texting, phone calls and social media.
Mayor Sue McKortoff was still beaming ear to ear as she attended the Osoyoos Royalty Pageant that night and performed many roles at Cherry Fiesta the following day.
“Doing my happy dance,” she said when interviewed at Cherry Fiesta. “I was delighted. I certainly hoped that would be the final outcome.”
She credits the entire community of Osoyoos with coming together and applying enough pressure that the provincial government came up with a new Rural Education Enhancement Fund at the last minute.
Earlier Thursday, MLA Linda Larson announced the provincial government would provide all $490,000 the school district requested to keep OSS open.
“You know the expression, ‘it takes a village?’” said McKortoff. “Well it doesn’t take a village. It takes a town. And the town of Osoyoos has been front and centre on this for the last six months. I really think it was Osoyoos that gave the government the final push to get this done. I’m banking on it, that it was Osoyoos that made this happen.”
Even after the government announced it would provide all the operating and maintenance funding requested, that the funding would be ongoing and the formula for applying for capital improvements to rural schools is being revised, trustees were still reluctant when they voted to reverse their earlier decision.
Once again, they attacked the Town of Osoyoos for taking the matter to court, and they repeatedly took shots at the provincial government, suggesting the money was only committed because 2017 is an election year.
“This is electioneering at its absolute worst,” charged Oliver trustee Rob Zandee.
Both Oliver trustees, Zandee and Rachel Allenbrand, fought the reopening of OSS to the bitter end, arguing it would reduce the number of courses offered at Southern Okanagan Secondary School (SOSS) in Oliver to students from both communities.
While other trustees voiced serious misgivings, Zandee and Allenbrand were the only two who did not in the end support the bylaw to rescind the closure.
They didn’t, however, deny the unanimous consent to deal with all three readings of the bylaw on June 30.
Although many Osoyoos residents were critical of MLA Larson’s initial response to the school closure, her insistence that it was strictly a local school board decision, and her refusal to attend public meetings, in the end it was Larson who delivered the news that allowed OSS to stay open.
“For those who know me, you know that keeping Osoyoos Secondary School open for business was my number one priority,” Larson said during an announcement event last Thursday morning at Osoyoos town hall.
“That’s why I’m pleased to say today that Osoyoos Secondary will be receiving the full $490,000.”
The funding will be ongoing, she added.
“We are ensuring that this community does not have to go through this again,” Larson said.
The money consists of $387,000 in operating funding to offset the savings that would have been achieved by closing OSS, as well as $103,000 for deferred maintenance.
“The provincial government has committed this funding because it understands the impact that this particular school closure would have on the economy of your community,” Larson continued.
The announcement is part of a larger strategy for rural schools, she added.
“I know for many of you it was very frustrating, because for you this was the most important school in the province, and the only one you were interested in,” said Larson. “But believe me, the rest of the province also has issues and there was no way we could create a one-off only for Osoyoos. We had to look at a much broader picture.”
The province identified nine rural schools in B.C. that would be eligible for the funds, though not all applied. The others were all elementary schools.
Larson said she is proud to have been named as parliamentary secretary for rural education.
“I’m even more proud of this community for the work that you’ve done and for standing up for your kids,” she said.
A beaming Mayor McKortoff thanked Larson.
“I’m just so thrilled to be part of council and to be here for this announcement,” said McKortoff. “I want to thank you Linda. Thank heavens she was named parliamentary secretary for rural education. We couldn’t think of a better person to be on our side.”
Asked afterwards to clarify her statement that the funding would be ongoing, Larson said school districts will have to apply each year.
“They have to put a letter in if they’re still in the same category,” she said. “In other words, if they still have a low number of students, they will still put a letter in to say this is the shortage again for operating the school. Just standard protocol, but the promise is to keep that money coming.”
Asked about the $3 to $4 million in capital upgrades the school district said is needed for OSS, Larson said one of her tasks as parliamentary secretary for rural education will be to look at the criteria for schools with less than 95 per cent enrolment to qualify for this funding.
“Obviously not in one lump sum, but part of what my job is to do is to take a look at the criteria for capital funding for schools that fall at less than 95 per cent capacity, which is the issue here,” she said. “And to get a new formula, so that they will be able to apply for capital funding. They’ll have to do it in small chunks, like everybody in the province does, and they’ll have to work on it over the years.”
This means that instead of just being given a “maybe” for capital funding for schools under 95-per-cent capacity, there will be clear criteria, Larson said.
“I think that overall, that’s part of my job going forward,” she said. “It will take a few months to do that. What we’ve done with this today is make sure these schools get up and running in September, that they don’t have any issues to speak of, that we’ve dealt with everything that’s on their table right now, and as we move forward, we’ll work on all those other things.”
Dorosz, who chairs the Osoyoos Independent School (OIS) committee, said the announcement means the group will not need to open an independent school this September in Osoyoos.
But she expected the group to stay active and continue lobbying for education in Osoyoos. The group planned to meet Monday night to discuss its future.
Asked what she would like to see happen next, Mayor McKortoff said it would be making sure the school gets opened.
“I’ve said I would be happy to go up and scrub floors or do windows or whatever it takes,” she said. “They said if they’re busy up there, they might like the odd beer and I said I can do that. So we’re happy.”
RICHARD McGUIRE
Aberdeen Publishing
MLA Linda Larson announces $490,000 in provincial funding to keep Osoyoos Secondary School open. At left, Councillor Mike Campol and Mayor Sue McKortoff listed to the announcement. (Richard McGuire photo)
Osoyoos Mayor Sue McKortoff celebrates the decision by trustees of School District 53 to keep Osoyoos Secondary School open. (Richard McGuire photo)
