The chairman of the Langley board of education and the superintendent of the Langley School District have accepted responsibility for mistakes in the finance department which have left the district with a deficit of more than $8 million.

Chairman Joan Bech opened Tuesday's board meeting, the first of the new school year, by reading a statement in which she acknowledged that "very serious mistakes have been made and must be corrected."

"We have 8.3 million things to talk about," Bech said. "I personally apologize for that."

She said that like all trustees she believed that the financial statements and audit reports presented to the board were accurate.

"By doing so, I failed you and your children. I take responsibility for that," Bech told a packed gallery of parents, teachers and school principals.

Bech urged the community to put differences aside.

"We need a truce. We need a ceasefire. We need to remember there's a child in the middle."

Superintendent Cheryle Beaumont said that as CEO of the Langley School District, she is responsible for the errors.

"Let me begin first by addressing the question of who is responsible. As Chief Executive Officer of the Langley School District, I am."

Addressing the board, Beaumont said: "You hired me to, among other things, carry out the day-to-day operations of the district and make sure we do the best possible job delivering programs and services to students."

The Langley Teachers Association failed in its attempt to force Beaumont to resign.

LTA president Susan Fonseca was halted by Trustee Steve Burton on a point of order that personnel issues are not to be discussed in an open forum.

Bech sought direction from secretary-treasurer Wayne Braun who confirmed that a public meeting was not the appropriate place to ask for the resignation.