School boards up pay ahead of tax changes; STF unhappy

The public and catholic school boards in Regina are raising the pay for trustees to compensate for federal tax changes next year, but the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) thinks it’s the wrong move.

Both boards increased their trustees’ pay enough so that they’ll take home the same amount their federal taxes change.

Earlier this month, the Regina Catholic School Board voted for the increase. Board chair Bob Kowalchuk said it wasn’t an easy decision to come to.

He said they tried to be sensitive to how this would look, but if you want people committed to doing the board’s work, then you have to compensate them.

“If you look at the number of hours, meetings that are involved in this — we’re talking generally, two, three meetings a week, anywhere from two to three hours, four hours sometimes.”

Kowalchuk pointed out that the Catholic trustees didn’t take a full raise; he said he will still be taking home about $300 less than when the tax changes come into effect, and trustees will be taking about $200 less.

During the meeting when the Regina Public School Board voted for the increase, vice-chair Adam Hicks brought the motion, noting that without it, each trustee would stand to lose about $3,500 from their take-home pay when the federal tax changes come into effect.

He made sure to note that this was a zero-sum adjustment. “We were just bringing it back to a balance.”

Not everyone agreed though.

Trustee Tanya Foster said for her conscience, she would have to vote no.

“I’m willing to take a little bit of a hit just because, I guess, of solidarity with the teachers. Because they didn’t get an increase in their salaries, I feel that I would feel guilty taking an increase, even though, technically, it’s not an increase.”

Teachers were originally asked to take an overall 3.67 per cent pay cut, but an arbitrator ultimately decided the teachers will take no pay increase this year, and just a small one next year.

Patrick Maze, the president of the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation, was impressed with Foster’s comments, saying the board should do what they were asking teachers to do — “look in the mirror.”

Maze said that with $24 million less in the operating budget for schools across the province this year, the boards should have a little more consideration in raising their own salaries.

“It seems like students are okay to cut programs and supports that they receive, and yet when it comes to upper management or the trustees, they’re not so keen on taking a cut.”

Hicks said the total cost to the board’s budget in the remainder of this fiscal year will be just over $20,000, and he said they’ll be able to cover that from the trustees’ professional development and training budget.

Hicks promised that the board is fighting for teachers, and will be careful to make sure this doesn’t affect classrooms.

“Even the last couple years with the cuts that we’ve had to the school division as a whole, we’ve been ensuring that our classrooms are as supported as possible.”