After listening to yet another week of debate about cuts to the Vancouver school board's budget, I have come to a conclusion: A pox on all of their houses. Finding a single honest broker in this mess is impossible.

The closest I have come is Green Party school board trustee Janet Fraser, who cast the deciding vote Thursday night that saw the board reject a budget that would have imposed $24-million in cuts.

At least Ms. Fraser was honest about the fact that her vote had something to do with politics.

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"In rejecting the budget we could put a spotlight on the underfunding from the provincial government and make this an issue in the upcoming election – make all the provincial parties consider public education and put that forward to the people of B.C," she told me in an interview.

I have no doubt that she agonized over the decision, but in the end decided that the budget cuts were coming one way or another, whether the board voted for a balanced budget by the June 30 deadline, or was replaced by a provincially appointed trustee who would do the same.

The four Vision Vancouver trustees on the board rejected the budget with Vision's Mike Lombardi saying the following morning: "Our parents and our community want good schools in Vancouver and they told us last night to stand up and advocate for us and our schools."

One could argue, however, that some of the items that have ended up on the chopping block – literacy teachers, special education, gifted programs, mini-schools and yes, band and strings – were all highlighted to solicit maximum public outrage.

The four NPA trustees voted to approve the budget, issuing a statement that blamed the inaction of previous Vision-dominated boards when it came to difficult decisions, such as closing schools. "Instead of looking at facility needs the Vision trustees prioritized paying for empty space over paying for teachers and support staff, and now it's our students who are going to suffer as a result."

That's a page torn from the talking points of B.C. Education Minister Mike Bernier.

After the vote, Mr. Bernier said he was disappointed with the board's decision.

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"I'm also disappointed that the board is putting partisan politics ahead of the needs of students. It seems to be the continued choice by the board to take $37-million of services to students and then flowing that money into keeping empty seats open across the district," he said during a media conference call.

The $37-million figure comes from an Ernst & Young report commissioned by the province that concluded the district could save that amount if it closed 17 schools and cut support staff.

Mr. Bernier, meantime, continues to hammer away at his claim that his government has never spent more on public education, which is true. But taking into account inflation, declining enrolment, teacher salaries and fixed costs, such as utilities and MSP premiums, which the VSB says are not funded by the province, the board says any funding increases have been erased.

The point the minister is no longer hammering is his assertion that the Vancouver School Board is somehow unique in its inability to balance its books.

Granted its budget hole is many times that of Burnaby, Surrey, Abbotsford or Delta, which are dealing with shortfalls ranging from $3.4-million to $4.5-million. According to the group Families Against Cuts to Education, 27 school districts in the province are facing budget shortfalls totalling more than $77-million.

I know as much about how this is going to play out as anyone else does, which is about zero.

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But the dance feels different this time around. There doesn't appear to be much room to move.

Stalling and hoping for a change of government isn't going to fix anything.

The province has made funding for badly needed seismic upgrades to Vancouver schools contingent on enrolment being boosted to 95 per cent across the district. That's going to mean closing schools and more crowded classrooms. I'm not sure what packing schools to capacity does for educational outcomes but I'm guessing it doesn't improve them.

I have three children at three different schools in the Vancouver district.

Presented with the choice between a school that is crowded and a school that may be reduced to rubble in the event of an earthquake – well, that's really not a choice, is it?

Stephen Quinn is the host of On the Coast on CBC Radio One, 88.1 FM and 690 AM in Vancouver.