A member of the Vancouver School Board is calling the firing of nine trustees from the Cowichan Valley School Board a slap in the face to democracy.
On Sunday, Education Minister George Abbott dismissed the board members after they failed to submit a balanced budget last month. Instead, they handed in a restoration budget calling for nearly $3.8 million in additional funding for student services and programs.
Mike Lombardi, vice chair person of the Vancouver School Board, pointed out the Saanich School Board almost submitted an unbalanced budget last year, but received funding at the last minute.
“This year the minister refused to meet with the board, which is really unfortunate. So to me it’s a sad day for democracy in British Columbia, because it’s an insult and a slap in the face to the local electors,” Lombardi said.
Although the School Act prohibits local boards from running deficits, the Vancouver School Board passed a motion last week in support of the Cowichan trustees’ budget.
“The main reason for it was that all school boards in British Columbia have been underfunded for the past 10 years. In Vancouver we’ve had to cut $80 million out of our budget over the last 10 years and the results are less services for kids, fewer teachers, fewer support staff,” Lombardi said.
“So I think what happened in Cowichan is basically they’ve followed up on their commitment to voters during the election campaign.”
Lombardi says while Vancouver balanced its last budget, a $20 million shortfall is being projected for the next school year.
Fired Cowichan trustee Hannah Seymour was upset by her dismissal over the budget.
“It obviously didn't feel good. It was something that I was always optimistic that minister Abbott would be willing to have a conversation with us,” she said.
Trustees who voted in favour of the restoration budget are discussing a legal challenge against the province.
But Amrik Prihar was against the plan. He wanted to submit a balanced budget that he feels wouldn’t have hurt local education.
“We were elected to do a job. Obviously some of us chose the other way, to have our own political platform and promote that,” he said.
Abbott told CTV News on Sunday that the firing is not unprecedented. The Vancouver School Board got the boot in 1985, and the North Vancouver School Board met the same fate in 1996.
“This is second time that the Cowichan board has been fired. The first time was back in 1985 when a social credit government terminated this board,” Abbott said.
The province has appointed Surrey school superintendant Mike McKay to help district staff come up with a balanced budget.
With a report from CTV British Columbia’s Maria Weisgarber
