Burnaby school board chair Diana Mumford is raising concerns about the comptroller general's report on the Vancouver school board, a report alleging trustees are to blame for the district's multimillion dollar deficit.

With a $16.32 million budget shortfall on hand, the Vancouver school board has been condemning the provincial government for under funding education while considering cuts to balance its budget. The Education Ministry asked comptroller general Cheryl Wenezenki-Yolland to investigate the board's financial dealings and report back.

Her report, released June 4, criticizes the board for focusing too much on political advocacy rather than managing its own affairs.

"The current board of trustees has not demonstrated they have the management capacity to effectively govern the Vancouver school board or fulfill all of their accountabilities and duties of the (School) Act," Wenezenki-Yolland wrote in the report. "This is evidenced by the quality of board discussions, their focus on short-term decisions at the expense of long-term sustainability, the lack of strategic and long-term plans and an unbalanced focus on advocacy versus financial stewardship, delaying decisions that would see the effective use of existing or available resources."

The Burnaby school board has long criticized the provincial government for not giving districts enough money to do their jobs. While the Vancouver district has a budget of about $500 million and a $16.32 million deficit, Burnaby's budget is about $200 million and its deficit is now $5.2 million. By law, school districts cannot carry deficits; they must make cuts to balance the budget if they are short money.

As for the under funding issue, Mumford pointed to a line in Wenezenki-Yolland's report stating the structure of the provincial funding model for education was specifically excluded from the review.

"Right from the get-go, they were never looking at the funding piece of it, what districts were getting. They were only judging how districts used it," she said.

Although Mumford didn't want to pass judgment on Vancouver's finances, she views the report as a way for the government to blame Vancouver's woes on financial mismanagement rather than lack of government funding.

"I don't agree with that. I think it's politics. I think it's political on both sides of the spectrum," she said. "Both sides are frustrated by it all, but I don't believe we are over funded in our district or funded for the full needs we have."

Mumford also disagreed with one of the report's suggestions that Vancouver could make more money by charging non-profit groups higher rental fees for school facilities.

She also pointed out that Wenezenki-Yolland works for the Finance Ministry, not "an independent body in any way, shape or form."

Local NDP MLA Kathy Corrigan chaired the Burnaby board before she entered provincial politics. Corrigan also declined to comment on Vancouver's financial dealings, saying she wasn't sure if there are savings to be found, but she said Wenezenki-Yolland is being portrayed as an independent watchdog and it's important to remember she's a government employee.

"I think it would be nice if the auditor general could take a look at it," Corrigan said. She also echoed Mumford's comment that Wenezenki-Yolland did not look at the government funding in her report.

"I know from my years on the Burnaby school board that services were very effectively and efficiently delivered," she said, adding districts across B.C. are having financial problems.