B.C.'s education minister fires Vancouver School Board

Firing of VSB 'outrageous,' trustees say Critics are speaking out after the B.C. government fired the publicly elected Vancouver School Board.

The entire Vancouver School Board has been fired by the province, hours before trustees said they were ready to table a balanced budget.

Education Minister Mike Bernier announced the move Monday, appointing a former superintendent to temporarily serve in the publicly elected board’s place.

In a statement, Bernier said the board was dismissed for failing to comply with the School Act, which required them to adopt a balanced budget by June 30. Of British Columbia's 60 school boards, Vancouver's was the only one that failed to balance its budget.

Bernier said the VSB had been focused on a political agenda, rather than its fiscal responsibilities. The announcement was just hours before a scheduled board meeting, where trustees were expected to pass a balanced budget.

"I'm extremely disappointed," Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson said of the decision.

"It makes no sense when they were going to pass the budget, and in particular, given that they're elected officials, I believe they can do the best job for our kids and we're fighting to keep our schools open. It's just very, very disappointing."

The minister wrote that members of the board may now say they are willing to pass a balanced budget, but that it is "impossible to have any confidence" that they won't change their minds at the last minute.

"What we have witnessed from the Vancouver school board is a misplaced focus on political tactics rather than responsible stewardship," he wrote.

NDP Leader John Horgan said the decision made it a "sad day for education in British Columbia," and an "even sadder day for democracy.

"To have Christy Clark's government dismiss a duly elected school board on the eve of them passing a balanced budget as directed by the province is just another opportunity for Christy Clark to control education in British Columbia, to control education in Vancouver."

Horgan said the BC Liberals didn't give the board a chance to do its job, which is to represent the families in its district.

"It is, in my mind, absolutely outrageous that they believe that the best solution at this time after a decade and a half of upheaval in our education system is to fire a school board."

The board may have had issues in the most recent school year, Horgan said, but "that's democracy. And if Christy Clark doesn't like it, she should just get out of the way and let them do their jobs."

The board's dismissal came less than two weeks after Bernier made the decision to extend an audit into the board's financing.

"In addition to the fact of non-compliance, since the end of June there have been a number of publicly-reported developments which are causing concern about stability in Vancouver schools for students," Bernier wrote.

The province hired a special advisor to conduct interviews and examine its books, but after 2.5 months of investigating, Bernier announced the advisor needed another two weeks. Based on the timing of that statement, the final audit is due by the end of this week, but Bernier said he'd received a draft report on Saturday.

"It deepens my concern," he said, adding that the report will be released following an investigation by the province's privacy commissioner.

That investigation was launched after trustee Patti Bacchus filed a complaint, alleging that there was a possibility of a privacy breach since the minister's special advisor had been granted access to trustees' emails.

Some of the emails were sent to her and other trustees by parents, and she said she was concerned about the privacy of students in the VSB.

Earlier this month, Bernier was asked whether he was planning to fire the board, but said he was waiting until he'd received the audit, so he had all the information before making a decision.

The audit's extension was granted in part due to a second investigation of the VSB, this time by WorkSafeBC. That investigation was launched after the B.C. School Superintendents' Association sent a letter to the Education Ministry alleging that the board had become a toxic environment.

The letter said the bullying and harassment was so bad that some senior staff members had been forced to take sick leave. On Monday, Bernier said he'd received more letters of concern from multiple people inside the school district.

Bacchus said few people know any details of the allegations, telling reporters that no complaints have been made to the board, the board chair, or its acting superintendent.

She spoke at a meeting of Vision Vancouver, attended by fellow trustees and the mayor.

Bacchus blamed chronic underfunding for the main budget issues her board has faced, saying that she hopes funding for education is a focus of the next provincial election.

"We have heard year over year that it is becoming more and more difficult for people in the schools to do their work," she said.

Bacchus called B.C.'s education system one of the best in the world, but said that it is "under threat.

"Under the years of Liberal policy, the grind of funding cuts, the neglect of capital programs and the pressure of parents to fill in more and more gaps, and leading to increased inequities for students."

But Non-Partisan Association trustee Fraser Ballantyne said while he was upset about losing his job, he was more frustrated by the way the board was operating. He said he was surprised that the dismissal came on Monday, expecting it at a later date, but said that he thought the minister had been closely monitoring the situation.

"I think that he understands the dysfunction that's been going on in our district," Ballantyne said, calling the VSB a "board of inaction."

He said there had been no serious attempt to deal with declining enrolment or erosion of funds that could have been redirected to student services and hiring teachers.

"The minister has to make a decision on what's best for the kids, and the dogfight that's been happening here with the constant struggle of trying to get work through that's going to save $7 million on the budget, for example, is extremely frustrating for me as a trustee."

Board Chair Mike Lombardi called the dismissal "outrageous," but said that, regardless of job title, he would continue to "tirelessly advocate" for adequate funding for education.

The B.C. Teachers Federation also blamed what it described as an "underfunding crisis" for issues at the board, a problem it said is impacting schools districts across the province.

In a statement, BCTF president Glen Hansman said the VSB's dismissal was an example of the B.C. government "trying to place blame for its own policy and funding choices" on trustees in Vancouver.

"Vancouver's school trustees should be congratulated for putting students first and pushing back against government underfunding," Hansman said.

BCTF wrote that funding as a share of the province's gross domestic product has been decreasing since the BC Liberals took office, from 3.42 per cent in 2000 to 2.19 per cent in the current school year, despite a $1.9 billion surplus this year.

"The government’s priority should be ensuring all school districts have stable, predictable, and adequate long-term funding—not firing elected school boards," Hansman wrote.

The federation also posted a message on Twitter from Rory Brown, president of the Vancouver Secondary Teachers' Association.

"Democracy takes a blow this morning with the firing of an elected Board of (B.C. Education) Trustees in Vancouver," Brown wrote.

"For 12 years (the BC Liberals) have undermined and played dangerous politics with Vancouver students… Today's firing continues the cynicism…"

Until a new board is elected, former superintendent for the Delta school district Dianne Turner has assumed all duties and responsibilities typically required by the board. She will be required to conduct public board meetings and community consultations, among other duties.

She has been appointed for one year, but the contract can be extended.

"Parents in Vancouver and the province are counting on Ms. Turner to end the continuing turmoil that has dominated the Vancouver school board for too long," Bernier wrote.

"After restoring order in district operations, it will be her job to work with her district team and develop a plan that puts Vancouver back on a firm financial footing while further accelerating seismic upgrades and preserving education services for students."