OSOYOOS – Osoyoos town council is considering taking legal action to prevent the closure of the community’s only secondary school.
Trustees voted 4-3 Wednesday night to shutter Osoyoos Secondary to try to balance the district’s budget.
“We have hired legal counsel and we certainly will look at whether this is the right decision and whether it was done correctly,” says mayor Sue McKortoff. “Our lawyers are working on it right now.”
The Save Our School committee is exploring another educational option in Osoyoos so about 240 students won’t have to bus to Oliver to attend classes.
“There’s a group of us looking at an independent school,” says spokesperson Brenda Dorosz. “We’re continuing to look into that and perhaps get that done for September.”
The NDP education critic attended Wednesday’s school board meeting and visited Osoyoos Secondary Thursday.
“This school is a viable school and it should not be closed,” says Rob Fleming.
He blames the closure, and many others being considered by school trustees around the province, on chronic under-funding by the BC government.
“We’re the second worst funded province in Canada. We used to be second best. School districts are cutting budgets to meet their obligations to the province and the province is failing the community in its obligation to properly fund public education,” says Fleming.
Following the school board’s decision to close the school, some angry Osoyoos residents threatened to block a major intersection in the town Thursday morning in protest.
But cooler heads prevailed and the blockade was called off.
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