Editor:
Low compensation for elected service in most communities in B.C. effectively prevents many people from seeking office. For most people, typical honorariums do not make it economically feasible to book off significant hours and days of work, not to mention the loss of family time.
For at least a decade, the Sunshine Coast Board of Education has had a standing policy to review trustee stipends every three years, so it comes as no surprise that just as it happened three years ago, it has occurred again. It was also announced in our agenda package the same way any upcoming issue is, and was accompanied by a thorough report and supporting information.
Also, just like three years ago, the stipend has been adjusted to the provincial average for trustees. Unlike trustees, by collective agreement, teachers are entitled to the same rate of pay no matter what school district in B.C. they are working in. Furthermore, unlike the history of collective bargaining and harmonized wage policies, the board accepted the average of $13,313; no one argued for the more than $30,000 that Surrey trustees receive.
Cuts to the 2010-11 budget are also hardly applicable to this decision, because the stipend review was not included in that budget process. The current budget was balanced without any cuts having to be made for a stipend increase.
For the first two years of their term, the current trustees have received a base stipend that is 21 per cent below the current provincial average. For the last year of our term, it is being brought up to the average. When this year is up, a new board will be elected. And despite this gloomy talk of merely "below average vs. average" compensation for local representation - and the grief and cynicism directed towards elected representatives on this issue in particular - let's hope the Sunshine Coast gets a diverse, competitive and "above average" field of school trustee candidates in 2011.
Silas White
Chair, Board of Education
