Town of Osoyoos sues local school district over school closing

The town of Osoyoos, B.C.and fourlocal parentshave 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 aninterimor permanent injunction to delay the closing ofOsoyoos Secondary School for at least one year.

The legal move is the latest effort by Osoyoosofficialsto save its high school.

Last month, the town of 5,000 residents offered the school district $1.1 millionover 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 schoolstudents will bused to the neighbouring town of Oliver 22 kilometresaway to attend school.

The lawsuit alleges that School District 53'sconsultation 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-speakingcommunity, and that the Board of Education "made noeffort 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 byaffidavits from sixOsoyoos parents whodescribehow 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 busto Oliver each daywill have anegative impact on herdyslexic 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 SuperintendentBev Young told CBC news the district received a copy of the lawsuit on Tuesday andis retaining a lawyer.