Trustees of School District 53 have voted to apply for funds to keep Osoyoos Secondary School open, but the decision on whether to rescind the April bylaw to close the school will depend on the province meeting their financial request. (Lyonel Doherty file photo)
The outcome of two key decisions in coming days will determine whether Osoyoos Secondary School (OSS) opens in September after all or whether it closes permanently.
On Thursday, School District 53 will learn whether its request for $490,000 from the province to keep the school open is approved.
If that happens, the board will debate a motion to rescind the bylaw closing OSS.
A B.C. Supreme Court judge is expected to rule July 7 on a petition by the Town of Osoyoos and several parents seeking an injunction to keep the school open. That decision was originally expected this Wednesday.
Last Wednesday, trustees voted 5-2 to apply to the provincial government for funds to keep OSS open under the recently announced Rural Education Enhancement Fund.
The district is requesting a total of $490,000, including $387,000 to offset the savings the district estimates it would have gained by closing OSS and another $103,000 for deferred maintenance.
The trustees will meet again at a special meeting on Thursday (June 30), after they learn whether the provincial government will meet their financial request, to decide on whether to rescind the school closure bylaw passed in April.
Board Chair Marieze Tarr, who voted to apply for the funds, said it’s not certain the district would get the money it’s asking for. She pointed out that the provincial program is providing $2.7 million, but that other school districts will also be seeking the limited funding.
Voting against applying were the two Oliver trustees, Rob Zandee and Rachel Allenbrand, who said they were concerned about the number of new courses that Southern Okanagan Secondary School (SOSS) in Oliver would lose if OSS stays open.
Trustees expressed concerns that even if the school receives funding for the coming year, the district is not guaranteed it will continue to receive money in subsequent years. It will need to apply each year.
Superintendent of Schools Bev Young said an assistant deputy minister of education assured her verbally that OSS meets the criteria for the funds and will definitely receive operating funds.
She said she was told the district could make a one-time application for the deferred maintenance funding, but only the operating money was assured.
The school district can apply for funds for capital improvements to OSS.
While the usual requirement of 95 per cent capacity to receive capital funding is looser for rural schools, there is no guarantee that capital funding would be approved, she said she was also told.
Trustee Debbie Marten of Cawston-Keremeos, who voted in favour of applying for the funds despite her misgivings, said she is concerned about the $3 – $4 million that will be needed over the next four years for building upgrades and whether the board would receive funding for them.
It was trustee Sam Hancheroff of Okanagan Falls who took the lead in calling on the board to apply for the funds. Hancheroff in April voted to close OSS, but on Wednesday he argued that the district should take the money that is offered.
Hancheroff also gave notice of a motion for the June 30 special meeting to rescind the closure bylaw if the funds are approved.
“I do like the idea of getting some money if we possibly can,” he said.
The former provincial NDP candidate, who lost to MLA Linda Larson in 2013, implied the province was only offering this money at the last minute because 2017 is an election year.
Zandee also questioned the motivation of the province in offering the funding and he wondered if the money would continue to be available in coming years.
Nonetheless, his biggest concern was the loss to SOSS of 17 new courses that would be offered by amalgamating the two schools in Oliver. He began reading off a list of the courses.
“The potential loss of courses to a large number of students in the South Okanagan, both Osoyoos and Oliver, is kind of scary,” said Zandee.
Allenbrand shared this concern.
Osoyoos Trustee June Harrington, who pleaded on behalf of OSS, said that even though some new courses might not be offered, students would get the essentials.
“Can I ask if the loss of those courses is worth the devastation of 230 kids plus the economy of the community?” Harrington asked.
Allenbrand retorted that the trustees’ job is to guarantee the best quality of education and it’s not their job to worry about the economy of communities.
Myrna Coates, a Cawston-Keremeos trustee, pointed out that the board began consultations on school closures for financial reasons — not because of potential to offer courses.
The process over the last few months since the school launched the consultation process in January “was one of the worst things that we’ve lived through,” she said.
“We started about money and now we’re stuck because of money,” said Coates. “We have a community that is begging us to keep it open. Not for courses.”
Marten expressed frustration with all the lobbying trustees have done with the Ministry of Education in recent years.
“They just ignored us and turned their backs on us,” she said. “Every time we turn around they say they’re giving us money here and clawing millions back here,” Marten said.
She blamed the pain that students, staff and the board have been put through “totally” on the Ministry of Education.
Coates asked what would be the next steps if the district gets the funds and decides to keep OSS open.
Young assured her that school district staff would take care of the logistics of ensuring staffing for OSS and would work with the unions.
The district had until Friday, June 24 to apply for the funds and the ministry said it would give an answer by June 30.
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
Marieze Tarr, board chair of School District 53, reviews the criteria for the board to apply for provincial funding to save Osoyoos Secondary School. (Richard McGuire photo)
Debbie Marten (right), one of two trustees for Cawston-Keremeos, expresses her views on a motion by trustee Sam Hancheroff to apply for provincial funding to save Osoyoos Secondary School. Marten had concerns that the government might not provide the funding in coming years, leaving trustees in the same situation, but she voted in favour of applying nonetheless. Bev Young, superintendent of schools (left) listens. (Richard McGuire photo)
