Vancouver school board chair Mike Lombardi tells minister thanks, but no thanks

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      Vancouver school board chair Mike Lombardi has rebuffed a suggestion from the province regarding the board’s budget problem.

      Meanwhile, the district has begun issuing layoff notices to nonteaching staff affected by the funding crunch.

      Lombardi told the Straight that Education Minister Mike Bernier recommended hiring EY (formerly Ernst & Young), the auditing firm that previously proposed closing 19 schools in the city. Lombardi said Bernier wanted the company to review the $24 million worth of cuts submitted by district staff to balance the budget for school year 2016-2017, as required by law.

      The board rejected the proposed $447-million Vancouver district operating budget in a 5-4 vote on April 28. It has until June 30 to present a balanced budget or get fired by the province.

      According to Lombardi, Bernier’s suggestion would have simply meant that EY would be looking for other services to slash to fill the same $24-million deficit.

      “I said, ‘I thank you very much for the call, Minister, but that’s not what we agreed to,’ ” Lombardi told the Straight by phone, referring to a talk he and vice chair Janet Fraser had with Bernier on May 3.

      Lombardi said he reminded Bernier they agreed that school-board senior staff and the Education Ministry will try to find “some alternative solutions” to give Vancouver “more money”.

      Until that money is found, Lombardi said, the district is required by law to proceed with the balanced budget rejected by the board.

      This means complying with collective-bargaining agreements, which provide giving two-month layoff notices to affected personnel. Lombardi said about 70 to 80 nonteaching staff may lose their jobs by the end of June.

      Lombardi also said that about 80 teaching positions will be abolished through attrition. Retiring teachers will not be replaced.

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