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A student walks out of Gladstone Secondary school in Vancouver, British Columbia on June 20, 2016.Ben Nelms/The Globe and Mail

Vancouver school trustees are expected to consider an 11th-hour proposal from B.C.'s Education Ministry that could end a stand-off over passing a balanced budget, as required by provincial law, just one day before the deadline.

A majority of trustees had said they were prepared to lose their jobs rather than pass a budget drawn up by school board staff that included cuts to the tune of $21.8-million, saying the impact on students would be too severe.

Vancouver School Board chair Mike Lombardi, who called a special board meeting for Wednesday evening, said he and Education Minister Mike Bernier have been in discussions about the budget shortfall and he expects the ministry to present the board with a proposal.

"What five of us said is we were not prepared to balance a budget that had $21.8-million worth of cuts. I think that's clear," Mr. Lombardi said in an interview on Tuesday. "Obviously, what we would like is to have the whole thing covered off, but we'll consider whatever comes our way."

Mr. Bernier did not respond to a request for comment by deadline.

Under the B.C. School Act, school boards that fail to submit a balanced budget to the provincial government can be fired and replaced with a government-appointed trustee – which last happened in Vancouver in 1985.

All four Vision Vancouver school trustees, and Green trustee Janet Fraser, have rejected the budget, which would eliminate some teaching and support staff positions, affect special education and mentorship programs, and cut programs such as band and strings for elementary students.

Ms. Fraser, who often casts the tie-breaking vote on the nine-person board, said on Tuesday she does not yet know what to expect.

"I can't imagine a realistic situation that [the minister] could present to us that would work, but I would like to believe it could happen," she said. "It's just wait-and-see at the moment."

Meanwhile, all four Non-Partisan Association trustees have said it would be irresponsible to reject the budget, and that trustees must work with what they are given.

"No one wants to see programs and kids impacted and people laid off," Penny Noble wrote in an e-mail. "But I feel there really was no other choice and that voting no would have been irresponsible, and not have achieved the results we all want: education and programs for our kids."

In May, the VSB had a $27.2-million shortfall – the largest the board had ever faced. The Ministry of Education has since provided budget relief totalling $4.88-million; the relocation of some students from Henderson Annex saved another $580,000.

The board must submit a balanced budget by Thursday.

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