VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – An audit ordered by the provincial government and carried out by Ernst and Young has found $750 million in one-time savings for the Vancouver School Board.

It also points to $72 million in potential annual savings and revenues.

The review recommends the school board address its more than 10,000 empty school seats, which it says could yield savings of up to $37 million a year.

There are 59 recommendations, including one that the board eventually look at closing up to 19 schools. They are not suggesting any immediate closures.

Education Minister Peter Fassbender tells us he can’t say which schools could be looked at.

“They’ve talked about which ones and where the capacity issues are, but that’s a detail that the Vancouver School Board staff, the ministry staff and the Vancouver School Board need to go through.”

“There are areas in the City of Vancouver — for example, the east side that has over-capacity while the west is growing. So, they have to look at that, in terms of their fiscal planning,” adds Fassbender.

The audit finds the board can save money by not doing seismic upgrades or major maintenance on schools set for eventual closure.

Selling properties could save anywhere from $200 million to $400 million.

Click here to read the full report.

The school board is only obligated to consider the suggestions; that means it can do all of the things suggested, some, or none at all.

Possibility of school closures would be a tough sell to parents: Bacchus

Vancouver School Board Trustee Patti Bacchus says Fassbender’s discussion about possibly shuttering and eventually selling 19 schools will be a tough sell to parents.

“When we went out to communities, what we heard was that there was strong opposition right across the district to closing schools and selling school lands at a time when the city is growing so quickly.”

Bacchus says it could be difficult for trustees to agree to any school closures.

“We can look at it case by case. I can tell you that all of the Vancouver school trustees ran on platforms that promised not to close neighbourhood schools. So right off the bat, you have an elected board that told people, ‘If you vote for me and get me on the school board, I will not close your school,'” she tells us.

She’s taken to Twitter to voice her thoughts about the audit:

Keep in mind gov't considers elementary art rooms, computer labs and music rooms as "empty seats." #bced — Patti Bacchus (@pattibacchus) June 9, 2015

Here's a better plan, how about we do better than 2nd-lowest per student funding in country? #bced — Patti Bacchus (@pattibacchus) June 9, 2015

The board has until the end of the month to respond to the audit.

A bill was passed in the Legislature earlier this year that gives the education minister more power. Bill 11 allows the minister to issue directives to boards; trustees have been worried it could come to that.

The education minister says it’s up to the board and he won’t speculated on what the province’s next move will be if the audit is ignored.