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Former VSB chairman Mike Lombardi, one of four Vision trustees on the politically split board, said it was an “outrageous political decision” to fire the democratically elected school board.

“The people of Vancouver elected trustees to stand up for public education, not to do the provincial government’s dirty work of closing schools, cutting programs and selling off public assets to address a budget shortfall of their own making. The Vancouver school board is now being run out of Premier Christy Clark’s office,” Lombardi said at a news conference.

Special adviser Peter Milburn was appointed earlier this year after the board rejected a budget calling for $21.8 million in cuts, setting themselves up for possible firing. This fall, six senior staff members went on medical leave at the same time and the board called off a process that could have seen 11 schools closed next year.

Bernier said he received Milburn’s report on Saturday, but he can’t release it because of a privacy complaint filed by trustee Patti Bacchus.

“For the most part there was nothing in that information that gave me any confidence that the decisions being made by the board in the past or into the future was going to be beneficial for the students,” he said.

Vancouver parent Jennifer Stewart said the timing of the firing, on the day the board was set to approve a balanced budget, makes it look like the decision was made for political reasons.

Stewart said Bernier should be more open if there are other reasons for the dismissal.