HIGH PAY IS ALARMING

Albertans are accustomed to hearing the lament that public education suffers from a lack of funding. They’re told classrooms are short of resources and that steep fees for essential services such as busing are necessary to make up for a lack of cash.

That’s why it’s so alarming to learn that Alberta school superintendents are much better compensated than their colleagues in provinces such as British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Ontario.

In 2015-16, the average Alberta superintendent earned $206,250, and the highest salary was $357,404, according to analysis prepared for the Alberta School Boards’ Association. The salaries are before benefits, expenses or any bonuses such as severance pay, which can substantially influence compensation.

Perhaps most worrisome is the fact the highest-paid Alberta superintendent received nearly double the compensation of the highest-paid Ontario counterpart. Clearly, such a discrepancy can’t be justified, especially when such individuals are tasked with managing cash-strapped schools, not overseeing hightech darlings that are awash with money.

It’s reported school superintendents’ average base pay rose 10 per cent in three years — this while teacher wages largely languished and public-sector CEO salaries were frozen. Even worse off were many employees in the private sector who either joined the unemployment rolls or saw their wages and hours reduced.

Education Minister David Eggen has the good sense to call the skyrocketing salaries “a problem,” but Albertans are certain to wonder why he allowed the contracts to increase when other public-sector workers were subject to restraint. School superintendents’ contracts are negotiated by school boards, but the minister must approve them.

Eggan is now considering a pay grid or salary cap for school superintendents. He is also apparently considering requiring all school boards to publish their top earners’ compensation — something other civil service departments have done for some time.

Obviously, such measures are overdue. When Albertans pay their taxes toward schools, it’s with the expectation that it’s going to enrich classrooms and provide students with a quality learning experience that prepares them for adulthood.

Taxpayers don’t make a financial contribution so those who administrate the school system can be the envy of their well-paid colleagues across the country.

If Alberta Education wants to enjoy bragging rights, let it be for first-rate learning outcomes, not for over-the-top compensation.