Dharm Makwana

Bridging the Vancouver School Board budget gap will come at the cost of jobs and a host of other measures, according to a revised preliminary budget proposal issued Tuesday.

The projected funding shortfall was revised to $16.32 million from $18.12 million based on revised information on employee benefit plans and HST impacts.

The calculations dropped the number of layoffs down to 161 full-time equivalent positions from down from an earlier projection of about 190.

Trustee Sharon Gregson said despite the new bottom-line, she and other trustees remain mired in an ethical dilemma heading into a vote Thursday night to approve the budget.

"To be put into a position by our current Premier that forces us to move beyond just cutting skin and bone from a system and towards cutting heart and soul from a public system is actually disgusting and repulsive," she said.

School board trustees approved shuffling class hours by dropping 10 days of the calendar on Monday to save $1.2 million.

Trustees can save another $1.14 million in salaries and benefits by halting interior painting.

The special advisor appointed to the school board will report to the education minister of her findings May 31. Funding for the school board will be set June 30.

Gregson said the school board is already projecting an $8 million deficit for the 2011/2012 school year.