Okanagan-Skaha School District won’t ask for special advisor

Those hoping the Okanagan-Skaha School District would call in a special advisor won’t get their wish.

After a lengthy discussion at their board meeting Monday night, the school board voted 6-1 against asking for a special advisor.

Some had hoped an advisor could provide an outside opinion on the way the decisions were made to close three schools.

Last week, MLA Dan Ashton wrote to the board asking them to look at bringing in a special advisor and specifically mentioned the controversy over the decision to close Trout Creek Elementary.

“Parents in School District 67 and even Summerland Municipal Council are expressing their wishes for an oversight into this closure. Surely their concerns should be worthy of a second look by an individual who can possibly provide additional advice to the issue,” wrote Ashton.

However, the board chair Linda Van Alphen defended the decision not to ask for a special advisor. She argues the board feels the investigation by an ombudsperson, that is already going ahead, will provide a third party, objective investigation and there is no need to duplicate that process.

Read More: Summerland parents seeking injunction on school Closure

“We know that the one big question that the parents have is one process. We already have an ombudsman who is going through two claims that we have not done due process. We are waiting for the results of what the ombudsman says,” said Van Alphen.

“I hate to say this, but it is not a very large group of people anymore that are saying that they don’t trust us. The larger group are the people who say go ahead you’ve done the right job and keep going with what you are doing.”

Van Alphen stands behind the procedure used to close Trout Creek Elementary and says the process to close the school was “solid.”

– with files from Angela Jung