Osoyoos Mayor Sue McKortoff (second from left) reacts negatively to the proposal to close Osoyoos Secondary School (OSS) at the meeting Wednesday night of the board of School District 53. From Left are Ron Hovanes, mayor of Oliver; McKortoff, Mike Safek, principal of OSS; Dave Foster, principal of Osoyoos Elementary School (OSE); and Jason McAllister, vice principal of OSE. (Lyonel Doherty photo)
The Town of Osoyoos will once again find itself in a fight to save its schools from potential closure as district officials try to erase a $530,000 structural deficit.
Osoyoos Mayor Sue McKortoff left Wednesday’s school board meeting very unhappy when she learned that either Osoyoos Secondary or Osoyoos Elementary could close.
“I find it very difficult to accept,” she told school officials at the board office in Oliver, where the 2015 Facilities Plan was discussed.
McKortoff, a former teacher, said the board’s two options under consideration will create a great deal of confusion and “will be a huge issue.”
Osoyoos school trustee June Harrington agreed, saying closing either school will be “devastating” to the community. “Surely there must be some other options,” she stated.
Harrington was the only trustee on the board to vote against motions to consider closing Osoyoos schools. As chair of the board, Marieze Tarr, the other Osoyoos trustee, did not vote.
The board did discuss several options, including the closure of Okanagan Falls Elementary, the closure of Cawston Primary, and the closure of Tuc-el-Nuit school in Oliver. But only Osoyoos schools were named in the two recommendations that the board passed.
Option 1: Proceed with a consultation process to consider the closure of OSS and transfer students to Southern Okanagan Secondary School
Option 2: Proceed with a consultation process to consider closing Osoyoos Elementary and renovate OSS to accommodate a K-9 program, and transfer Grades 10-12 to Oliver.
But McKortoff said closing Osoyoos Elementary doesn’t make sense when it is one of the highest rated schools in the district in terms of quality and condition.
“I’m certainly not happy with this,” she reiterated.
Secretary Treasurer Lynda Minnabarriet painted a bleak picture of declining enrolment in district schools. Combined with their deficit, which is projected to grow to $1.4 million by the 2017/18 school year, the board has to do something, trustees agreed.
Board chair Tarr stressed that they will consult with the community before moving forward with either option.
Minnabarriet said closing one school will save the district between $250,000 and $400,000. Even then, the board will have to come up with other measures to erase the deficit.
“Something has to be done because the deficit is going up and sooner or later there will be more problems,” said trustee Sam Hancheroff.
But he slammed the provincial government for its continued cutbacks. “It’s a sad day for School District 53 and for education.”
Trustee Myrna Coates said it doesn’t matter what the board does, “it’s going to hurt.”
Trustee Rob Zandee asked what would happen if the board delivered a deficit budget. Minnabarriet said the last school board that did that was fired by the province.
But Village of Keremeos councillor Sherry Philpott-Adhikary said the board needs to “rise up” and demand more money from the provincial government.
“You’re going to ruin a whole generation of kids (here).”
Oliver Mayor Ron Hovanes said he absolutely felt for McKortoff, admitting he was “gutted” when he saw the recommendations come up on screen.
It’s déjà vu for the Town of Osoyoos, which found itself in a similar predicament a few years ago when the board was considering closing Osoyoos Secondary to save money. But an impassioned plea from parents and town officials saved the school from the chopping block.
Lyonel Doherty
Special to the Times
Students walk between classes at Osoyoos Secondary School in this file photo. School District 53 is again considering closing OSS and busing students to Oliver. (Richard McGuire file photo)
