Marieze Tarr, board chair of School District 53, reviewed the criteria for the board to apply for provincial funding to save Osoyoos Secondary School. The board applied for and received just under $500,000 from the Rural Education Enhancement Fund, allowing OSS to remain open. (Richard McGuire photo)
The news every Osoyoos resident had waited six months to hear – that Osoyoos Secondary School was going to remain open – finally arrived just before the school year ended in June.
Only when School District 53 Board Chair Marieze Tarr announced, “Osoyoos Secondary School will be reopening in September,” did the audience that had stuffed into the small school district chambers burst into cheers.
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.
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 (REEF) at the last minute.
MLA Linda Larson had announced the provincial government would provide all $490,000 the school district requested to keep OSS open.
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 still voted reluctantly 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.
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.
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 would 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.”
Dorosz, who chaired 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.
Just when it looked like the closure of OSS was inevitable, things changed dramatically when Premier Christy Clark, Education Minister Mike Bernier and Larson announced the formation of REEF
A total of nine schools in rural B.C. qualified for funding under the program.
“Closing the only high school or elementary school in a rural community has a large impact on that local economy,” Clark said. “With Canada’s strongest economy, it’s important that we make sure the benefits are shared by rural communities throughout our province to ensure they have the infrastructure they need to grow, attract talent, and provide critical services like health care. Our rural education strategy will help us accomplish this.”
OSS was one of nine B.C. rural schools the province listed as being eligible to apply for the funds. The other eight schools are all elementary schools.
Larson was officially named parliamentary secretary for rural education in the same press release that announced the funding to rural schools.
This new funding will be in addition to the $118,000 Larson announced to School District 53 two weeks earlier as part of $25 million in administrative savings given back to school districts across the province.
Contrary to what many residents of Osoyoos think, Larson said she has been working diligently behind the scenes to try and keep OSS open since trustees voted to close the school on April 26.
She first presented Clark with her serious concerns about the impact closing OSS would have on local residents and the local economy more than two months ago, said Larson.
“She listened to what I had to say and saw merit in the arguments I was trying to make,” she said.
The decision to approve this funding came after Clark and the Ministry of Education agreed that local economies would suffer immensely if these rural schools were closed, said Larson.
Tarr said the board wants clear assurances the funding announced would be long term and ongoing and sufficient to meet the challenges faced by rural school districts now and in the future.
OSOYOOS TIMES STAFF
Osoyoos Times
Mike Safek, principal of Osoyoos Secondary School, was the first and last speaker at a celebration of 37 years of the held in June when it looked like the school would be closing. (Keith Lacey photo)
Janis St. Louis, the founder of the Piano in the Park program, looked on while Tristan Brunet-Dupont, 22, of Montreal, played only minutes after the piano was installed in Gyro Park in early June. An official opening ceremony for the Piano in the program was held the following Sunday where Kayla Turnbull, whose family donated the piano, was once of the first to play. (Keith Lacey photo)
Frances Sologuk, owner of Osoyoos Home Hardware, unveils one of five murals erected on the side of the store while she stands beside town pioneers Gerald Pendergraft, Iris Tweedy and Ruth Schiller. Several hundred local residents — and many tourists — gathered outside the store as Sologuk and her husband Larry unveiled the murals that celebrate the town’s historic past. (Keith Lacey photo)
There were many wonderful costumes on display as once again the Half Corked Marathon in June was hugely popular. More than 1,000 people from across the province and many from Calgary and Washington State made the trip to participate in the event. (Dan Walton photo)
