Nearly 1,000 people packed into the gymnasium at Osoyoos Secondary School for the first public consultation meeting in February. By holding the board meeting in the next door theatre, which has only 264 seats, School District 53 is ensuring that fewer people attend. (Richard McGuire file photo)
The future of schools in Osoyoos is expected to be decided at a special meeting of School District 53’s board Wednesday evening at Osoyoos Secondary School (OSS).
The outcome of that meeting was not known when the Osoyoos Times went to press, but an update will be posted on the internet at OsoyoosTimes.com.
The meeting is being held at the Osoyoos Community Theatre at OSS, which only has a capacity of 264 seats and two wheelchair spaces. It starts at 7 p.m. on April 6.
Prior to the meeting, Brenda Dorosz, chair of the Save Our Schools (SOS) committee, was urging parents and other community members to show up, even if they can’t get into the theatre. She said he hoped to see 1,000 people come out for the vote.
Trustees will discuss two motions:
- To close OSS and transfer students to Southern Okanagan Secondary School (SOSS) in Oliver;
- To close Osoyoos Elementary School (OSE), renovate OSS as a Kindergarten to Grade 9 school and transfer Grades 10 to 12 to SOSS.
If either of these motions passes, SD 53 administration proposes that a bylaw to close that school would be given all three readings Wednesday night.
Prior to the discussion by trustees and vote, there is a 30-minute maximum “public forum” in which members of the public may speak, but they must complete a form requesting to do so prior to the meeting.
There is also a chance for the public to address the board at the end of the meeting, after the vote, during “question period.”
Despite public concerns about the size of the venue, School District 53 has chosen not to move the meeting to the larger gym next door or the Sonora Community Centre.
Chair Marieze Tarr issued the following statement:
“The April 6 Board meeting is a formal business meeting of the Board of Education and needs to be conducted as such. All board meetings occur in the school board office; however, the board has made the decision to relocate this business meeting to an Osoyoos venue that respects parent and community interest as well as supports the business that needs to take place regarding this very important decision. We kindly ask for your co-operation.”
On Friday, SD 53 released further written public feedback it received between March 16 and March 29, as well as notes from consultation meetings with school staff, Osoyoos town councillors and the public.
Combined with previously received feedback, the document package is now well over 500 pages, virtually all of it opposed to the Osoyoos school closures.
Notes from the March 7 meeting between the school district and Osoyoos town council provide some new information on the extent to which the town is prepared to act to keep both schools in Osoyoos.
Council is willing to discuss taxation, in collaboration with the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) to support schools as “a long-term solution,” the notes suggest, without indicating who made the statement.
School districts do not have the power to increase taxes to make up for budget shortfalls, but municipalities can raise taxes and can provide funding to the school district.
The notes also say school district officials are refuting the claim that Osoyoos will be B.C.’s only town of 5,000 people not to have Kindergarten to Grade 12 education.
An unnamed school official said Rossland and Peachland lack secondary schools.
Peachland’s 2011 population was 5,200 and Rossland’s was 3,556. Peachland is 17 km from West Kelowna and Rossland is 10 km from Trail.
School district officials, however, may want to be cautious about citing Rossland as an example. After Rossland Secondary School closed in 2013, School District 20 actually lost provincial per-student funding when many Rossland students opted to go to an independent school, be home schooled or go outside the district instead.
The closure of OSE would cause considerable concern for parents worried about their young children crossing Highway 97 to attend school at OSS. This option, however, provides a financial incentive to the school district because it owns most of the property at OSE and proceeds from the sale of it could be used to fund capital projects elsewhere in the school district.
If OSS were closed, on the other hand, any proceeds from its sale would revert to the provincial government rather than to the school district.
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
