A five-year plan that closed schools and axed jobs means the Kamloops-Thompson School District will likely see no repercussions from a scathing report on the Vancouver school board, trustees said.

Comptroller-general Cheryl Wenezenki-Yolland’s report, delivered Friday, accuses the Vancouver board of mismanaging its finances, making bad decisions and not being upfront with its financial situation.

That prompted Vancouver trustees to decree Monday that the report opens the door for Education Minister Margaret MacDiarmid to make broad changes to public education.

But Kamloops-Thompson school trustees don’t see it that way. Board chairman Ken Christian said the report vindicates a lot of decisions trustees have made, no matter how unpopular the outcome might be.

That includes cutting dozens of positions at all levels, merging French-immersion programs, and closing three elementary schools, he said.

“This is about providing governance for a system that is in need of governance, now more than ever,” said Christian

The numbers may be different, but Kamloops-Thompson carried a larger deficit than Vancouver and still managed to balance its budget, he said. Kamloops-Thompson had a $5.8-million deficit compared to a $120-million budget. Vancouver is contending with an $18-million deficit on a $400-million budget.

Trustee Annette Glover believes it would be unwise of the province to restructure public education based on the performance of one school district.

“You can’t use one district as an example and have it affect all 60 districts,” said Glover.

She said governments in Ontario and New Brunswick have tried to manage individual school districts with little success. Eventually, the districts were handed back to locally elected trustees.

Trustee Gerald Watson believes the situation in Vancouver is unique, and is confident the province recognizes that, he said.

Wenezenki-Yolland was appointed as a special adviser in April to review the Vancouver school board’s financial performance and make recommendations for meeting the budget set out by the government.

Among the report’s recommendations are more transparent financial reporting by all school districts, better links between education funding and student outcomes and tougher conflict-of-interest rules for school trustees.

jhewlett@kamloopsnews.ca