Ontario orders school board trustees to cancel pay raises

Posted on October 3, 2014 in Education Debates

TheGlobeandMail.com – News/National/Education
Oct. 02 2014.   Caroline Alphonso – Education Reporter

The Ontario government is ordering school board trustees to reverse a decision to award themselves pay raises.

Trustees at several boards, including Windsor, Halton and the Durham region, recently passed motions to increase their honorariums, anticipating an end to the legislated four-year wage freeze for the public sector. They made the move even though Premier Kathleen Wynne’s government says its central task is to get public sector unions to accept pay freezes and temper their expectations as the province struggles to eliminate the deficit.

Education Minister Liz Sandals sent a letter to trustees last week shortly after a Globe and Mail inquiry about the issue, saying the government decided to extend the salary freeze and it would apply to the new slate of trustees that takes over after the Oct. 27 municipal election.

“In our climate of continued financial restraint, we are asking everyone to do their part to address Ontario’s economic challenges,” Ms. Sandals wrote in the letter, which was obtained by The Globe.

Trustees were caught off guard, and say they do not see how denying them minimal hikes to their honorariums would pay off the provincial debt.

Trustees earn a base salary of $5,900 a year plus an extra amount based on their board’s enrolment. Some receive about $6,900 annually, while others, especially in areas like Toronto and Peel, earn as much as $27,000 because of the size of their student populations. The job of trustee is considered part-time.

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