The New Westminster school district has a hefty deficit from last year, but this isn't the first time it has faced a shortfall, and the chair of the district parent advisory council says the district should look at the past to learn about the present.
Rob Peregoodoff wants the board of education to first refer to a consultant's report on financial management from the 2000/01 school year - when the district had a $1.4-million deficit - before doling out more money for another review.
"Why are we bringing a consultant in to tell us what we already know?" Peregoodoff asked.
He called it "premature" to hire a consultant before the district has determined what caused the shortfall.
The old report, penned by Robert Whitmore, found that improvements were needed in a number of "important" areas, including that the board be better apprised of the district's financial position and that the finance department should undertake monthly reviews of revenue and expenditure.
The recent deficit came as a surprise to school trustees who thought they passed a balanced budget last spring, only to later find out about the shortfall.
In total, the Whitmore report made 23 recommendations to the board at that time.
Board of education chair James Janzen said he wasn't on the board when Whitmore's report was commissioned. Janzen hasn't read the report, he said, but he did say that it could provide some "good information" if the district were to hire a consultant to do a financial management review.
As for the cost of performing a review, Janzen said there should be spending limits, but it is a worthy cost.
"It's worthwhile to spend some money to determine what went wrong and to determine what we might do in the future," Janzen said.
Trustee Michael Ewen - who was on the board in 2001 - said Whitmore's report had some relevant points, but many of the suggestions would be outdated because of the way funding for education has changed.
The Whitmore report recommended the board plan strategically. Ewen noted that superintendent John Woudzia has been calling on the district to develop a strategic plan for almost a year. Ewen took aim at other trustees for not making themselves available for the strategic plan process.
To view the Whitmore report, visit the district parent advisory council's website at www.nwdpac.ca.
