The New Westminster board of education sliced millions from next year's budget on Tuesday night to plow through a hefty $3.5-million structural deficit - including cutting 58 positions across the district - but delayed repaying the government the more than $2.8 million it owes from last year.
The board of education had a multi-million dollar "surprise" deficit from last year and is projecting a $1-million deficit this year, but labour-endorsed trustees voted against a staff-recommended repayment plan that would have them paying back $467,500 next year.
"I'm not going to support the motion because the government has given us until year-three to repay .," said board of education vice-chair Jonina Campbell. "The reason I am saying that is because there are uncertainties around the assumptions we are making, and because the cuts we are making are really significant, and they're cuts right to kids in classrooms."
Trustee David Phelan agreed that pulling out almost half a million from next year's budget could hurt students.
"I think we've made some very drastic cuts right now, but I also think we've made some structural adjustments to get the district on the right path, and I have confidence that we are moving down the right path of financial stability," he said. "I think we are already making some very deep cuts that will have a dramatic impact on education."
The district has five years to repay the $2.8 million shortfall and, because the board voted down the recommendation to start repaying next year, the district will have to beef up the repayment amount to $900,000 in the following years.
That figure does not take into account the $1-million shortfall projected from this year, which will also have to be recovered. By law, boards of education cannot run deficits.
Voice trustees MaryAnn Mortensen and Casey Cook voted against deferring repaying the $2.8 million.
"I think we should dilute this as much as humanly possible," Mortensen said about the deficit. "I understand people feel it is death by a thousand cuts, paper cuts, but I think that it's probably better to take a pro-active approach, starting repayment now rather than waiting another year and increasing the stress a year from now."
Another source of contention for the board was the "staff over stuff" philosophy, which has guided the district's budget process over the last several years.
For some trustees, that philosophy is also impacting learning in the classroom.
Campbell said she attended a parent council meeting where parents were using their own money and resources to pool together for art supplies at their school.
"The idea that it can run on fumes forever is a bit of a misnomer," she said, adding, it's a "slap in the face to schools."
"Last year, we had to supply a pencil sharpener for my son's school," she said.
Cook said the cupboards are already bare from years of clawing back funding for supplies.
The staff-before-stuff philosophy creates an imbalance, he said.
"You can take it to an illogical degree and take stuff down to nothing," Cook said.
Campbell and board chair Michael Ewen voted against the staff recommendation to cut $632,000 from the almost $2.2-million budget for supplies, but for different reasons.
Ewen said he would double the cuts to supplies if it means keeping more people employed.
"I look at the figure of $632,000 and see the jobs," he said.
An area the district needs to be putting more money toward budgeting for is its technology replacement fund, acting secretary-treasurer Al Balanuik told the board.
Currently, it budgets $140,000 a year. Balanuik said that number should be $600,000 a year for the next 10 years to address technology needs in the district.
The district is spending money to maintain aging equipment rather than on purchasing new equipment, Balanuik said.
"Seven years is probably the life-span of a desktop computer," he said.
"What I am hearing is disconcerting," Cook said. "In many cases we are throwing good money after bad."
Phelan said the district needs a long-term plan for technology.
Meanwhile, the board put aside $900,000 from next year's budget to deal with unforeseen cost pressures.
It also opted to defer putting aside savings for a future skateboard park to the tune of $250,000.
There is a bright spot in the district's ongoing structural cost pressures - it is getting out of two leases - one for the homelearners' program, which will move to Hume Park Elementary, and an alternate program, which will go the district's Columbia Square office.
That will save the district $260,000 a year.
Next year's budget is a work-in-progress and the numbers could change, but for now the district is $33,000 shy of its goal to balance the books.
