Pay Hike for School Trustees?
Prince George, B.C. – Trustee remuneration will be up for discussion at tonight’s monthly Prince George School Board public meeting.
The seven trustees haven’t had a raise since December 2014 – shortly after the last local elections were held in November 2014 (all trustees received a $1,000 boost).
Their annual pay since that date is as follows (about a third is non-taxable):
- Chairperson – $ 18,000
- Vice-chairperson – $16,500
- Trustees – $15,000
A recommendation on whether to go forward with a pay increase will be made at an in-camera meeting today. The recommendation by the Management and Finance Committee will then be made public tonight.
Last year trustees decided to forego a pay increase of 1.5 per cent arguing “the time wasn’t right.”
“This is one of those times when you look at remuneration, it’s a small number in relation to the number of hours we put in the board,” said trustee Tim Bennett. “But I’m not interested in looking at it while we have exempt staff still under a (pay) freeze.”
Approximately $110,000 was spent on trustee salaries in the school district in 2015.
Comments
What I find incredulous is that right beside the main office for the school district, literally where they drive into the parking lot, is an elementary school with a large piece of missing fence right next to Ferry avenue that is substituting for a highway since our highway intersection at 97&16 is overwhelmed and can’t handle the traffic.
So everyday at noon and recess there are little kids, some as young as six, playing in that school yard along the fence line parallel to Ferry, where the fence along the school district property
line is missing. Meanwhile large highway trucks are rumbling by literally 20-feet away from where these kids play with no fence to stop them from running out into traffic to chase a ball or what ever.
We have chip trucks, fuel trucks, dumb lumber truck drivers from Surrey, gravel trucks, and every other kind of highway traffic in a rush, which is why they take the short cut, all oblivious to other people’s shield rent playing by the road side next to the school district office with no fence between the children and disaster on the road. Some companies avoid that stretch as company policy, for others it’s a free for all.
So how can they justify a raise when they can’t even recognize this problem right under their own nose. I don’t think a raise is justified until they can recognize a child safety problem literally right on their own door step.
So what did you do about this situation Eagleone. That is, besides complaining about it here.
I don’t see Eaglone’s post as complaining, I see it as simply stating the facts.
I would think that the Principal of the school should be looking into this issue. Kind of their job.
Geez, ain’t that the truth Eagleone, with all the shortfalls that the school districts whine about continuously and the need for more teachers, etc. they are contemplating a raise! Pretty ballsy if you ask me!
Well since the school board is a training ground for future politicians, they are learning their lessons well.
REALLY ???? These people just got in and ALREADY they want a raise??? Been said the number of hours they put in… actually, maybe being paid hourly would be more efficient for the taxpayer considering everyone has fulltime jobs elsewhere and board meetings and such are held in evenings..
REALLY ??? No increase in TWO years???? There are people out there with no increases for five years…
This have anything to do with ALL that money the Gov’t is giving the school districts that even Trustees figure they can get their paws into ????
I am not a big fan of school boards, mainly because they are to a large extent political, however on the other hand these are thankless jobs that require a lot of time and effort if they are to be done right.
When you consider the hours put into the job (much like City Councillors) the pay is pretty insignificant.
I would suggest that those who complain the most about what we pay our Councillors or School Trustee’s would not be interested in doing the job themselves.
Why should there be pay? There are manymany people who put in long hours volunteering, charity work and are lucky to even get expenses.
I wouldn’t be a trustee for that amount of money.
In my opinion we should give them the raise just for putting up with all the negative crap that gets hurled at them by the bitter crowd on this site. A little over a thousand a month is a very small amount of remuneration for the amount of time these school trustees put in.
A little over a thousand a month is a very small amount of remuneration for the amount of time these school trustees put in.
That’s just it… For the amount of time they put in.. Their jobs are not fulltime jobs
A wage increase for themselves would not look good when there are still members/employees there that are still on a pay freeze, as Tim stated..
Waiting for a real increase in our Pensions!
Yeah we get an increase each year according to the cost of living I crease doesn’t even come too 5 .
Cheers
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