Coquitlam Teachers' Association president Teresa Grandinetti is characterizing School District 43's current financial situation as the worst in 25 years and her colleagues want a forensic audit.
"It's pretty bad, it ranks right up there with one of the worst deficits in the province,I say ever." Grandinetti told The News. However, she said she didn't want to speculate on how the district will cut $12 million from its 2013/2014 budget for next year. Instead, she'll wait to see what the District Leadership Team comes up with at a public meeting slated for next Tuesday.
But the CTA isn't taking the situation lightly. At its general meeting Wednesday night, teachers voted to request an admission of responsibility from the board of education, a letter of apology to teachers acknowledging the emotional and financial impact the cuts will have, and a forensic audit of the district's finances to find out what went wrong.
CUPE local 561 president Dave Ginter is attending his union's convention. But at Tuesday's board of education meeting he came down hard on trustees and administrators, telling them they weren't doing their job and recommending a long list of cuts in the board office, arbitration costs and overtime.
