The Ministry of Education appointed a “special advisor” Monday to lead the forensic audit of the Vancouver School Board, following the board’s refusal to submit a balanced budget.
Peter Milburn, B.C.'s former deputy minister of finance, will conduct a full review of the VSB’s operations and comb through the district's finances to find potential opportunities to balance the budget.
Milburn’s appointment comes almost three weeks after Education Minister Mike Bernier announced a forensic audit of the VSB.
"Close to half a billion dollars are invested by taxpayers in the Vancouver School District and we need to know that money is going to services that directly support students,” Bernier said in a news release.
Milburn’s experience on numerous financial files, Bernier said, makes him the right person to lead the audit that will inspect the VSB’s governance.
Vancouver is the only school district in B.C. to fail on delivering a balanced budget by deadline, as required by the School Act. The board, faced with a $21.8-million shortfall, said it will not budge until the provincial government reconsiders its plea for additional funding.
The Ministry of Education has been criticized by the school board and its allies for spending tax dollars on repeated audits of the board.
According to the news release, remuneration for the special advisor is set at $80,000 for two-and-a-half months of work. The last VSB audit cost the government $360,000.
Vision Vancouver trustee Patti Bacchus said the provincial government should use its resources to review why the district is underfunded as the audit is unlikely to reveal any new information.
“This is the third time the ministry has appointed someone to come in and do this. They’ll say if we close schools and sell land we can save money. They’ll say that we can squish more kids into fewer schools,” Bacchus said.
Milburn’s audit of the board will be supported by Ernst & Young, the same firm that conducted the VSB’s 2015 review.
“I know they spent several hundred thousand dollars on Ernst & Young last year and it really didn’t come up with any new information that was helpful to the school board,” Bacchus said.
“It’s disappointing to see the government spending even more money on an exercise that isn't solving the key issue, which is inadequate funding.”
The deadline for the forensic audit and review is Sept. 30.
rumanadsouza92@gmail.com
