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North Vancouver school trustees have decided to take a “gap year” – or a gap of at least a few months – when it comes to increasing their own pay.
Trustees voted 4-3 this week against hiking their own salaries by 2.7 per cent, with the majority saying it wasn’t a good time to do that while teachers and support staff are still in bargaining.
Trustees usually vote to increase their pay annually, by an amount based on the consumer price index.
This year, the proposed pay increases would have added $762 to the annual pay for trustees, which would increase from $28,226 to $28,998. Pay for the chair of the board would have increased from $30,595 to $31,421 – an $826 increase – while the hike to the vice-chair’s stipend would have boosted the salary from $29,050 to $29,834.
But when it came time for the vote, several trustees said they felt uncomfortable approving an increase for themselves when the teachers remain without a collective agreement, with trustees George Tsiakos and Cyndi Gerlach pointing out the optics weren’t great.
“Taking a year off, there’s nothing wrong with that,” said Gerlach. “Just because the CPI has gone up 2.7 per cent, doesn’t mean we have to support (the increase.)”
The BC Teachers’ Federation contract with the province expires on June 30, amid a period of skyrocketing inflation.
Other trustees urged colleagues to approve the increase, with board chair Kulvir Mann saying it’s important to keep the increase in line with other school districts, and stating that playing catch-up with the pay hikes later just causes budget headaches.
Trustees last voted themselves a raise in September, when amounts went up .06 per cent.
The motion to approve the increase was eventually defeated, with trustees Tsiakos, Gerlach, Christie Sacré and Linda Munro voting against it while trustees Mann, Mary Tasi Baker and Megan Higgins voted in favour.
