Town of Osoyoos sues local school district over school closing
Lawsuit says district didn't properly consult with community
The town of Osoyoos, B.C. and four local parents have filed a lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court in an attempt to quash a motion by the Okanagan-Similkameen School District Board of Education to close the town's only secondary school.
The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday, is also seeking an interim or permanent injunction to delay the closing of Osoyoos Secondary School for at least one year.
The legal move is the latest effort by Osoyoos officials to save its high school.
Last month, the town of 5,000 residents offered the school district $1.1 million over three years to keep the school open.
The district declined the offer.
The board voted in early April to close the high school because of a budget deficit and declining enrolment.
The closure means Osoyoos high school students will bused to the neighbouring town of Oliver — 22 kilometres away — to attend school.
The lawsuit alleges that School District 53's consultation process with the community prior to closing the school "was inadequate and unreasonable, having regard to the importance of the decision being made, the number of individuals being affected, and the potential impact the decision on both the Town of Osoyoos and the individual and students and parents living it in it."
No translation provided, suit claims
The lawsuit clams that 40 percent of high school students in Osoyoos are from the local Punjabi-speaking community, and that the Board of Education "made no effort to have any kind of translation services available, or other means by which members of the Punjabi-speaking community could participate."
The lawsuit is accompanied by affidavits from six Osoyoos parents who describe how closing the high school will affect their children and their quality of life.
Crystal Macor wrote that the added stress of lengthy journeys on a noisy, crowded bus to Oliver each day will have a negative impact on her dyslexic son.
"It is my profound fear and concern that the closure of Osoyoos Secondary will deprive (him) of any realistic chance of continuing his secondary education successfully," Macor wrote.
School District 53 Superintendent Bev Young told CBC news the district received a copy of the lawsuit on Tuesday and is retaining a lawyer.