Vancouver School Board members have had a weekend to digest a damning report from a government advisor who examined their budget, and now they're preparing for their next move.

In her report, comptroller general Cheryl Wenezenki-Yolland accused the board of mismanaging funds, and found $12 million worth of revenue and cost-savings measures like closing schools and charging higher rental fees.

But after weeks holding off on its final budget while Wenezenki-Yolland looked over its books, the VSB says it is right back to where it started in April -- staring down a $16.3-million budget shortfall.

That means cost-cutting measures such as scrapping programs, laying off teachers and cutting to special education.

School board chair Patti Bacchus says that many of the recommendations in the advisor's report were already under consideration, but none are feasible in the short term.

"The real disappointment is the minister, in an attempt to divert attention from the real cuts across the province and Vancouver, threw in this report, tried to blame it on Vancouver and at the same time doesn't provide any solutions," she said.

"We couldn't suddenly get millions of dollars in concessions from our unions, we couldn't close schools overnight. It would probably be a dozen schools or more to make up the savings they claim would be there."

After months of protests and petitions asking the Education Ministry to increase funding, many parents were disheartened when they heard about the government report.

"The major problem is it looks at education as a business and not what it is," parent Gili Avrahami told CTV News.

Gwen Giesbrecht, chair of the district Parent Advisory Council, said she believes the province is taking the wrong approach to the school board's problems.

"Perhaps it's the base funding that should be looked at, rather than forcing the district into a position to run a deficit to provide excellence in education," she said.

The school board is scheduled to meet with Education Minister Margaret MacDiarmid Tuesday morning, and its final budget is up for a vote on June 23.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Leah Hendry