Salaries sharply rise for top school execs

The average base pay of publicly funded school superintendents rose 10 per cent in three years while teacher wages stagnated and public sector CEO wages were frozen, says a new report.

The analysis, prepared for the Alberta School Boards’ Association by Western Management Consultants, and obtained by Postmedia, said Alberta superintendents earn more than their colleagues in B.C., Saskatchewan and Ontario.

In 2015-16, the average base salaries for Alberta superintendents were nearly $51,000 higher than their Ontario colleagues, the report said.

The highest-paid Alberta superintendent was paid nearly double that of their highest-paid Ontario counterpart.

The data, which was sent to all Alberta school board chairpersons Monday, should prompt trustees to look at the trends compared to other management positions in the province, said ASBA president Mary Martin.

“We understand that it probably will create some conversations that are going to be uncomfortable,” Martin said Monday.

As several school boards are actively recruiting new superintendents, Martin wanted trustees to have the data when drafting new agreements.

The analysis found while superintendents in Edmonton and Calgary were paid the highest on average, the number of students enrolled in each school division and each division’s budget didn’t correlate with superintendent salary.

The report also compared trends in superintendent salaries to other public sector executives in Alberta. New restrictions on CEO pay are expected to push down salaries at agencies, boards and commissions by 14 per cent, the report said, and no base salary increases are allowed until September 2019. Public sector managers and nonunionized public employees are in the midst of a two-year wage freeze.

While the average Alberta worker’s earnings slumped and unemployment rose, superintendent salaries continued to grow.

In 2015-16, the average Alberta superintendent earned $206,250, and the largest salary was $357,404, the report said. The salaries do not include benefits, expenses reimbursed or any bonuses such as severance pay — variables that can substantially influence total compensation.

Barry Litun, executive director of the College of Alberta School Superintendents, raised questions about the methods used in the report and whether the interprovincial comparisons are fair.

Since Ontario capped superintendent salaries, boards there have a hard time recruiting senior leaders, who can sometimes earn more as a school principal, he said.

Alberta school boards must consider a prospective superintendent’s years and breadth of experience, and the complexity of the school district he or she will be tasked with managing, Litun said.

School boards are responsible for recruiting superintendents and negotiating their contracts. The education minister must approve the contracts.

Barbara Silva, communications director for the public education advocacy group Support Our Students, said the provincial government should consider regulating superintendent salaries.

Alberta should have a framework, like Ontario, that gives more guidance to school trustees who may have no experience hiring a top executive, she said.

“We probably are paying superintendents too much. Especially at a time when there are schools that have to fundraise for basic resources,” Silva said.