Education Minister Mike Bernier today appointed Peter Milburn as a special advisor to lead the forensic audit and full review of the Vancouver School Board.
Milburn, who recently retired as B.C.’s deputy minister of finance, will be supported by Ernst and Young, the same professional services and audit firm that conducted the VSB review in 2015. The forensic audit and review are due back to the Ministry of Education by Sept. 30, 2016.
“With his years of experience and his leadership on numerous financial files, Milburn is the right person to lead the forensic audit that will scrutinize the financial situation and board operations in Vancouver,” Bernier said. “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.”
While 59 of 60 school districts in B.C. passed balanced budgets by the end of June, Vancouver failed to do so. At the same time, the board said staff were making cuts to achieve a balanced budget.
“This refusal to follow the School Act and pass a balanced budget to stop cuts while at the same time claiming staff are implementing cuts is confusing for parents and students,” Bernier said. “Worst of all, it’s part of an ongoing pattern in Vancouver where claims of budget shortfalls have preceded the board adding to its accumulated surplus almost every year. This has to end.”
There are 6,500 fewer students in Vancouver today than there were in 2001 – a drop of more than 10%. And yet provincial funding flowing into Vancouver has risen by 20%. At the same time, the Vancouver School Board has chosen to put $37 million a year towards empty seats – instead of student services.
“We are providing record education funding in Vancouver and throughout the province,” Bernier said. “This forensic audit and review will help us make sure that record funding is going to support students – and point to next steps that will benefit students.”
Two backgrounders follow.
Backgrounders
Peter Milburn has a bachelor of applied science in civil engineering from the University of British Columbia. In 1983, he started with the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure as an engineer-in-training. His career has seen him work in all areas of the province and in a variety of positions including district manager in four districts, regional director, and executive director of the Sea-to-Sky Highway Improvement Project.
He then moved to Victoria to become the assistant deputy minister of the highways department and soon after was promoted to chief operating office and then deputy minister. In 2011 he was appointed as the deputy minister of finance.
Mr. Milburn led numerous P3 projects including the Sea to Sky Improvement project, WA Bennett Bridge and the South Fraser Perimeter Road. He has chaired many capital boards including the Transportation Investment Corporation, the Children's and Women's Hospital Redevelopment, the Interior Heart and Surgical Centre/Kelowna Vernon Hospitals Projects, and the Surrey Memorial Hospital Critical Care Tower.
Minister of Education, orders:
1. A special advisor to the Board of Education of School District No. 39 (Vancouver) (the “board”) be appointed for a term ending Sept. 30, 2016.
2. The special advisor will:
- Conduct a forensic audit of the board’s expenditures.
- Conduct a full review of the board’s operations and governance, including assessment of the extent to which the board has considered the information presented by management in decision making.
- Assess the effectiveness of the board’s oversight of the district, including the skills, training and experience of the board to fulfill its statutory and fiduciary duties.
- Assess the district’s 2016-17 budget reduction strategies and consider other potential opportunities to achieve a balanced budget that would have less of an impact on classroom instruction.
- Assess the extent to which the Board of Trustees has in place adequate systems and practices to monitor the organization’s performance; and the extent to which it operates accordingly.
- Submit a final report to the minister no later than Sept. 30, 2016.
3. Remuneration for the special advisor, which is set at a maximum of $80,000, includes expenses for travel and accommodation, at a rate equivalent to Group II rates in accordance with chapter 10 of the Core Policy Manual.
4. The special advisor will be supported by additional financial audit and governance expertise from a professional audit firm.
https://news.gov.bc.ca/11557
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