Alberta reins in superintendent pay
New provincial rules will amount to $1.5M in cuts, eliminate perks
New rules for school superintendent salaries will amount to $1.5 million in cuts and eliminate perks ranging from gym memberships to post-secondary tuition payments.
“There wasn’t really any control or regulation at all,” Education Minister David Eggen told a Friday news conference. “We are establishing clear guidelines that match other public sector organizations ... so that superintendents receive fair but not extravagant compensation.”
In March, he signalled salaries would be reined in when he launched a review on how public, Catholic, francophone and Charter school boards compensate superintendents.
The 10-per-cent cuts will apply to 67 of 74 positions, but changes will only take effect as contracts expire and are renegotiated.
Compensation for Edmonton Catholic Schools superintendent Joan Carr totalled $426,824 in 2016-17, among the highest in the province. Her current contract expires in August. But the new fivelevel salary grid starts at $60,000 and tops out at $275,000.
“The new regulation does not change (Carr’s) commitment to students, staff or Catholic education,” said board chairman Terry Harris in a statement Friday.
Harris — who said the board won’t comment further — noted Carr plans to stay on until Aug. 31, 2020.
Edmonton Public Schools also hires at the highest salary grid level, though the $252,889 annual paycheque listed for 2016-17 falls within the new framework.
The provincial review found “outlier provisions” in some contracts, ranging from $1,200 per year for a gym membership to $10,000 per year spent on a superintendent’s children’s postsecondary education.
The $14.1 million in contracts also included at least one with $25,000 per year in an “executive compensation” fund — money that could be withdrawn as cash, or go to an RRSP or health spending account.
“I’m not opening contracts from the past,” Eggen said, adding there are at least eight currently under negotiation that will be sent back to school boards.
The new rules won’t hinder school boards from recruiting top candidates, he said. “This compensation package provides clarity for people when negotiating.”
A February report commissioned by the Alberta School Boards Association found superintendent pay rose 10 per cent in five years and is slightly higher on average compared to other provinces.
That’s not the case for teachers, who were alarmed by the salary levels, said Greg Jeffery, president of the Alberta Teachers’ Association.
He said teachers called him Friday to ask why they didn’t see a salary bump in five of the last six years while superintendents received raises.
“The government had financial constraints in the last few years and teachers acknowledge that and we did our part,” he said. “Now it’s maybe time for superintendents to do their part.”
The College of Alberta School Superintendents (CASS) will work to implement the new structure across the province, said president Christopher MacPhee in a statement Friday.
“CASS has been committed from the outset of this review process to working with the government to create a compensation structure that is fair, equitable and transparent,” he said.
The new rules also outline severance pay, which could previously include up to one year’s salary regardless of how long a superintendent had been working.
“Going forward, severance will be based on the number of years spent working in the Alberta school system in general,” Eggen said.
There wasn’t really any control ... at all. We are establishing clear guidelines that match other public sector organizations.