We are a group of parents from Summerland who have been working hard to come up with solutions to prevent the closure of Trout Creek Elementary School and reconfigure all Summerland schools to the largest K-3 primary school in the province, a 4-7 intermediate school, and an 8-12 high school. 

We have focused on bringing the Board many, many solutions to their financial and enrolment issues for the last 5 months, all of which have been ignored. Unfortunately, without an appeal process in place to ensure the accountability of school boards, this is where we have ended up.  We are seeking the support of Summerland to pursue a Supreme Court Injunction to stop the closure of Trout Creek and reconfiguration of Summerland schools until the procedural concerns have been reviewed by a third party and implemented.  It is outside of our comfort zone, but we strongly believe the Board should not be excused for their failure to follow their own procedure and collaborate with the community who elected them.

The Supreme Court Injunction process starts with a $5000 retainer to the lawyer to commence work on this. After $5000 of work has been completed, additional $ will be needed depending on how much work needs to be done. There is no way of knowing how much the injunction will end up costing; we were given a estimate of $10,000-$40,000 excluding appeals. Its also not a guarantee that the injunction will be successful. If it is successful, the court will not substitute its decision for the that of the Board. If the process has not been fair it will be referred back to the Board who will have to correct any unfairness before deciding the issue again.



There have been multiple policy and procedure errors by SD67 with regard to the closing of Trout Creek and we feel is it essential to have an “objective third party review.”

We have asked the Board to request a special advisor from the province to review their process. The Board has refused this citing it is not needed and it would be an unecessary cost.  On May 30, The Ministry of Education actually offered a special advisor paid for by the province if the board was willing to accept the advisor, which the board has refused.   
 
We have filed several complaints to the ombudsperson, who is currently investigating.  This process can take up to a year.  Unfortunately, the findings of this investigation are not legally binding and would be recommendations.  We would prefer to have a special advisor from the province investigate as the special advisor would have access to more than the ombudsperson.  We are hopeful that the Minister of Education will appoint a special advisor.  

Whether it be the special advisor or ombudsperson, who is investigating, we are seeking a Supreme Court Legal Injunction, which , if successful, would stop the closure of Trout Creek and reconfiguration of Summerland schools (scheduled for June 30) until the review is complete and the recommendations are implemented.  

The Supreme Court Injunction is not a long-term solution; this is a stop gap measure to keep Trout Creek open and prevent the reconfiguration of Summerland schools until a third party review is complete.  We have been in contact with a lawyer in Kelowna who is interested in taking  this case and ready to start.  The Supreme Court Injunction needs to be filed before June 30, 2016, although it would not likely the hearing would take place before then.  This is not our first choice, rather our last resort.

Thank you for your support.