Huge deficit forces Langley school layoffs

Amultimillion-dollarbudget shortfall linked to accounting errors is forcing the Langley School District to lay off26 more staff, following an earlier decision to charge parents up to $450 to put their kids on the school bus, officials say.

Wayne Braun,secretary treasurer of theschool district southeast of Vancouver, told CBC News on Fridaythat 26 custodians and maintenance staff were given layoff noticesThursday because of the province's decision to cut a $3-million facilities grant earlier this week.

'That they would allow that to happen is quite appalling.' Langley, B.C.,parent Ted Matson

The district said some of the expected grant money was already spent on repair and renovation work this past summer, putting the districtin debt.

The school district has also revealed it isbattling a deficit of $8.3 million in the operating budget for the 2008-09 school year.

Audit found accounting errors

The school district revealed in a note sent to parentsThursday that the accounting firm Deloitteuncovered the ballooning deficit during an audit this summer.

Someaccounting errors werediscovered this spring,and initially the district had forecast they would amount to a deficit of $4.8 million. Thattriggered thelayoff of 81 support staff in June.

At that time the district also announced it would charge fees for school buses. Parents must now pay $200a year to bus a child to and from school.Parents with two childrenpay $350, and $450 for three children or more.

Theindependent auditmade public at a meetingWednesday revealedthe district's finance department made mistakes in tracking the cost of teachers, and did apoor job ofmonitoring and reporting spending. But it also found there was no misappropriation of funds or personal gains by anyone.

School administrators said the overspending went directly into services and programs for students, through the hiring of new teachers and the purchasing of equipment.

Those responsible for the errors are no longer in their positions, the district said.

Staff areworking with the provinceto outline other cost-cutting measures and negotiate a payback schedule.

Under B.C. law. it is illegal for a school district to knowingly run a deficit, but Braun said that is not what happened in this case.

Parent appalled by 'incompetent accounting'

Ted Matson, the parent of three children in the Langley school system, said officials should have known the budget was in trouble.

"From what I understand they were double-booking revenue and using grossly incompetent accounting procedures ... That they would allow that to happen is quite appalling," said Matson.

He worrieshis children'seducation will suffer as the district struggles to pay down the deficit.

"They say in the letter they'll keep programs and services to students as[the board's]top priorityit'll do its best to reduce in other areas. That's weak wording," said Matson.

"They have to pay it back, and it's going to come out of ordinary school funding to pay this back that's a key concern."