Editor: To many of us who have closely followed the actions of senior administration and the Board of Education over the past few years, the fact that we now face a major crisis does not come as a shock. While the amount of the deficit is staggering, the lack of foresight is certainly not a surprise.

During the fiasco of the South Central reconfiguration, the community repeatedly asked to see a cost analysis of the changes, showing the financial and educational benefits if there were any. In all of the research and calculations we did, we could only see negatives, both monetarily and educationally.

Despite the community’s requests, we were never able to see any financial plan for the massive, sweeping changes to our community. Instead, the majority of board members, on the advice of senior management, rammed the changes through, sending students, parents and teachers scrambling to cope with the devastation that resulted from these changes.

In my opinion, the majority ruling the Board of Education at that time needs to step up and take responsibility for their part in this mess. Those trustees refused to listen to the community and now not only our students, but the entire district, will pay the price.

It seems that the buck is quickly being passed and we are told that the people in charge of the financial mess are no longer in those positions. This is not good enough. Surely, the ultimate responsibility for this lies with the person who holds the highest position at the board office.

I cannot imagine any situation where the head of a company allowed $8.3 million in errors and overspending and did not step forward to acknowledge their own failings in managing and overseeing their staff.

I therefore respectfully ask that Superintendent Cheryle Beaumont immediately submit her resignation. At a time when all school districts are coping with cutbacks in funding from the ministry, we need to have confidence that the people running our district are using the funds they do have to ensure the best possible education for our children. This is obviously not the the case in our district.

Changes are needed at the board office, and those changes need to start at the top.

Carol Joyce,

Langley