School District #83 trustees have petitioned the B.C. government to remove a wage freeze and provide salary increases for their non-unionized administration employees.
In an Oct. 20, 2014 letter provided anonymously to the Observer, the board expresses concern to both the B.C. Education and Finance ministers about the compensation freeze for management and executive staff.
The freeze applies to executives like upper management of the school district, as well as principals and vice-principals.
When questioned about the school board’s position on the lifting of the freeze, Bobbi Johnson, school board chairperson, said it is an issue of fairness.
“As with the other groups, CUPE and the teachers, we have advocated for a fair wage for them. We did that for the others and we feel a responsibility to advocate for this group as well. We recognize that they deserve a raise like everyone else.”
The highest-paid school district employee is superintendent Glenn Borthistle who, in the past fiscal year, earned $143,766.
Other upper-management staff have salaries around the $120,000 mark, while principals’ salaries hover around $100,000. Vice-principal salaries are generally set in the $80,000 to $95,000 range.
In compliance with legislation, reports on all staff salaries greater than $75,000 are publicly available by clicking here.
In response to the Observer’s questions about the freeze, the Ministry of Education emailed a statement saying, “Controlling compensation in this way has been an important step in achieving and maintaining a balanced budget.” It goes on to say, “While B.C’s fiscal situation has improved since 2012, it’s not yet at a point where the freeze can be lifted.”
The ministry statement also notes that nearly 60 per cent of the province’s budget goes to salaries and benefits and the “government is seeking to balance affordability with fair and reasonable compensation levels.”
When asked about the school board advocating for salary increases for employees already in the top tier of school district wages, Johnson reiterated that the issue is about equal treatment of workers.
“There are going to be those people who disagree, but I’d like to think the whole system sees the fairness of that.”
Johnson says the salary increases gained by teachers during the time of the executive wage freeze have resulted in a situation where the top teacher wages are at similar levels as vice-principals.
The letter from the school district indicates management and executive staff have not had wage increases since 2009; however, the Ministry of Education states the freeze has been in effect since 2011.
Sterling Olson, secretary-treasurer for the district, says the discrepancy in the dates is likely due to the B.C. government’s using two different terms for salary cap — but the bottom line is school district executive and management staff have not had a wage increase since 2009.
The school board’s letter states: “So from July 1, 2006 through to Jan. 1, 2015, teachers will have had salary increases of over 9.5 per cent greater than our (principals and vice-principals) and exempt staff and other improvements to their benefit plans.”
Support staff in the Canadian Union of Public Employees have also had wage increases. In December, CUPE signed a five-year deal with a 5.5-per cent pay hike.
Brenda O’Dell, president of the North Okanagan Shuswap Teachers Association, says the teachers’ union supports fair compensation for everyone in the system.
She noted the school board trustees stated they would advocate for salary increases for all employee groups including teachers, CUPE workers and executive staff.
“I don’t see this as just something they are doing for the executive group,” she said, noting trustees also voted themselves a raise in the spring.
“So this is not out of step with what they have been doing for others in the system.”
O’Dell says the board should have been more publicly transparent about its position. She notes the school board’s letter advocating a fair wage increase for teachers was part of a public board meeting and was posted on the school district’s website. This did not happen with the executive compensation letter in October.
O’Dell herself wasn’t informed of the board’s letter directly but found out through a representative from another school district.
“It was certainly handled in a more quiet way,” she said.
The board’s advocacy for lifting the wage freeze comes at a time when the North Okanagan Shuswap school district is facing a reduction in its budget of between $1.3 million and $2.8 million. The extent of the budget reduction also depends, in part, on whether the negotiated salary increases for teachers following the recent teachers’ strike will be funded by the ministry.
The school district is asking that any executive or management wage increases be fully funded by the government, not drawn out of the current budget, so they would not result in any reduction of services for students.
“We really need the government to stand up and pay for this and other increases,” says Johnson. “The government itself gave its own people raises a while ago. That’s what makes us so upset, because if they are giving raises to some, it should carry on through the system. Our principals, viceprincipals and administration, they work very hard to keep the system running. The system depends on them, just as it depends on teachers and CUPE staff.”
O’Dell, too, wants to see any salary increase funded by government.
This school district is not alone in advocating for an end to the management wage freeze. The Okanagan Skaha School district has done the same, as have at least five other school districts in the province. (Report continues below table)
Expenses under scrutiny
As the school district prepares to wrestle with the impending deficit for the upcoming budget year, school district staff expenses are also facing review.
School board chair Bobbi Johnson says the school board took a close look at expense items in the previous budget deliberations, as trustees were looking at all areas of the budget in order to make reductions with the least impact on student services.
“It gets scrutinized quite carefully at the board office. We get reports so we can see and ask questions.”
Employee expenses are defined by the school district’s statement of financial information as including: “payments to or on behalf of, the employee for approved school district business expenditures such as travel, professional development, and association memberships, incurred in the normal course of activities as an employee of the board.”
Johnson says there were cuts made to expense budgets last year and this may happen again during the upcoming budget discussions.
“Those are spots we’ll be nailing down again this year, as we have to find the money for the budget from somewhere.”
Expense amounts vary widely across the district. The highest expenses are logged by school district upper management, all of whom claimed between $11,000 and $22,500 in 2014.
Brenda O’Dell, president of the North Okanagan Shuswap Teachers Association, noted there are differences between expense accounts for teachers and management staff.
“It seems some of those expense accounts are among the highest in the province,” she said.
Sterling Olson, secretary-treasurer, says there is accountability in the expense process. Each school or district department has an expense budget and all requests for reimbursement must have receipts and be approved by the staff member’s supervisor. This can also be scrutinized by the board and administration.
“There are layers of approval to ensure all expenses incurred are appropriate and valid,” says Olson.
The board can review expenses; however, Johnson says it is not the board’s job to micro-manage each cost.
“We have staff who are very knowledgeable and we respect their judgment on what (professional development) expenses are a worthwhile investment.”
Johnson reiterated that professional development activities by teachers and staff often have direct educational payoffs to student learning.
Olson also points out that teachers, for example, have a certain amount of professional development funds earmarked in their employment benefit contract with the government, which cannot simply be cut from the district’s budget.
A full report on expenses submitted by employees and school district trustees is available for those employees making a salary of greater than $75,000 per year.
Olson says those employees making less than $75,000 may still incur expense claims. However, they are not required to be reported in the same way.