An incredible turn of events for next year’s budget for the Bluewater District School Board.
An almost 200-million-dollar operating budget for the board next year was approved by most trustees in a Business Committee meeting just prior to the regular board session.
But in regular session and in a recorded vote, the budget failed to pass in a tie vote.
Board Chair Marg Gaviller says in all her years on the board she’s never seen anything like it.
Business Committee chair Dan Wong says the issues were approved during several business and budget committee meetings.
He says if trustees were against it they should have voted “no” during the process–not at the last minute during the board meeting.
Board vice chair John Chapman says a message needs to be sent to the province that rural boards need considerations that urban boards enjoy instead of forcing the board to cut back programs such as the elementary school tech programs which were mothballed for a year.
The province is expecting the board to have a balanced budget by the end of this month.
At this point it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen.
In the recorded vote Tuesday night, Marg Gaviller; Kevin Larson, Jim Dawson, Dan Wong and Marilyn McComb voted in favour.
Jan Johnstone, John Chapman; Fran Morgan, Terry Bell and Tony Pedoniquotte voted against.
