School District #53 School Trustees
Thank you for the opportunity to have Osoyoos Town Council meet with the School District #53 Board on March 07, 2016.
Council appreciated the opportunity to ask the Board some questions and share some ideas where collaboration may result in cost savings for the Board. Thank you for sharing the Protocol on Consultation and Cooperation between Union of British Columbia Municipalities and BC School Trustee Association.
The Protocol’s key principles confirmed Council’s perspectives that there are shared interests between the Board and Council; and that community is an integral part of the learning environment.
Since this will probably be the Council’s last written communication to the Board prior to the April 06 decision making meeting, Council would like to summarize its key points and recommendations:
1. At the March 08 public meeting and subsequent comments by Chairperson Tarr, the basis for the decision to close OSS appears to have moved from a true budgetary issue to one of the quality of education available to secondary students. This is evidenced by the many options presented by staff that will enable the Board to make cuts that may cumulatively achieve its budget targets. Council has pointed out in an earlier letter that Osoyoos parents haven’t expressed any dissatisfaction with the quality of education their children are receiving at OSS and education results illustrate that OSS is meeting or exceeding provincial averages. There is no guarantee that quality of education and overall personal development of OSS students will be improved by a move to SOSS; therefore, the closure of OSS need not be considered as a solution to the current budget deficit.
2. This is a regional problem that needs a regional solution, not actions that solely target Osoyoos students and community. The cumulative economic and social damage that will be inflicted on Osoyoos by closing OSS is astronomical compared to the trivial net savings achieved by closing OSS. As expressed by the Osoyoos business community, the current school closure discussions have already caused economic damage to the Osoyoos real estate industry, caused prospective residents to forgo moving to Osoyoos and motivated current residents to consider relocation.
3. The real net savings and costs of closing OSS are still unclear. For example, the March 08 staff presentation on bussing costs failed to include bus capitalization and greenhouse gas emissions in the overall net calculations. These amounts will be very influential in the overall calculations. The Osoyoos public is not convinced that the budget figures are sufficiently transparent to merit the closure of OSS.
The Osoyoos Town Council puts forward the following recommendations to resolve the current budget and education program delivery issues:
a. Address the budget deficit through implementing administrative cuts from the areas identified by staff at the March 08 public meeting.
b. Delay closure of any schools in the region until a regional stakeholder committee can be implemented to assist the Board in identifying regional solutions to the education delivery issues.
This action has the support of the Minister of Education Mike Bernier, MLA Linda Larson, Osoyoos Town Council and the Osoyoos public. Other local governments in the region have provided the Town of Osoyoos support in this matter and need to be part of a shared solution. This committee would take a long term consultation role in assisting the Board in dealing with capital and program issues through identifying regional solutions available through partnership generated actions.
c. Explore regional cost saving options through shared services with all municipalities and the RDOS. As Council mentioned, there may opportunities for local government to decrease the operating deficit by providing grass cutting service, use of community libraries, providing funds, review utility charges and implementing changes in joint use agreements that benefit the SD#53 operating budget.
d. Revisit the closure of Tuc El Nuit Elementary, implement all the needed capital changes to enable appropriate housing of elementary students in Oliver Elementary School and move Oliver students to SOSS to increase the occupancy rate at SOSS. By all appearances this is the best option as all students will remain in their communities and no negative impacts will occur for any community.
e. Explore greater use of technology in the delivery of a joint OSS and SOSS secondary program.
Throughout the discussions on this matter, many people have asked the Board to delay closure of OSS for one year in order to identify and implement other options. Council wants to be very clear that at no time does Council accept the closure of OSS as the solution to the Board’s budgetary problems. Council is very aware that there are economies of scale in the delivery of secondary education; however, until there is real evidence that OSS is not providing an acceptable quality of education will this Council accept closure of OSS as a solution. Council does not accept a scenario where the current low occupancy level of SOSS would be the major driver for the long term social and economic damage closure of OSS would cause our students, residents and community.
Council looks forward to working with the Board, its other municipal colleagues and residents of SD#53 to assist in resolving the education budget and program issues that confront the Board now and in the future. Council also looks forward to a collegial relationship that enables both governing bodies to respect their roles and responsibilities to their local and regional constituents. These responsibilities include working toward shared interests that relate to personal development and education opportunities for all youth through quality education and local community experiences.
Yours truly,
Mayor Sue McKortoff