Trustees with the Rainy River District School Board have deferred a decision to increase the pay for its chair and vice-chair.
The decision came following a lengthy discussion during the board’s meeting on Tuesday night.
Trustee’s compensation for servicing includes a base amount, with an additional $5,000 for serving as chair and $2,500 as vice-chair.
An additional sum based on enrolment provided to all trustees, which a decade ago was lowered for the chair and vice-chair positions.
Atikokan trustee Jeff Lehman says that by offering a lower rate, it represents a lack of respect for the positions.
“For whatever reason, this was passed 10 years ago, I would certainly have been arguing even at that point that we have to respect the work that trustees provide and provide as moving into positions of responsibility,” says Lehman.
“The argument for me is supporting our trustees in a meaningful way. A meaningful way would be to bring them up to par with the rest of the trustees here at 100%.”
Lori-Ann Shortreed, a Fort Frances trustee who also represents the unorganized areas to the east of town, also supports the change.
“I think that the work that the vice-chair and the chair do needs to be recognized,” says Shortreed.
“I understand the responsibilities, the extra work that they do, and to be on par with the rest of the school boards across Ontario, I think, is important. Without compensation to these roles that matches provincewide, I think it’s going to be harder and harder to find people to fulfill these roles.
Fort Frances trustee Mike Walchuk, who is also the current vice-chair, opposes the idea, noting it was not on a wish-list of recent budget requests.
“Of these 151 submissions that we received for next year’s budget, there wasn’t a single suggestion that we should increase the pay of trustees,” says Walchuk.
“Let’s keep the pay where it is. Put the money into more useful items supporting our students and teachers.”
The increase would mean an additional sum of $473 for the chair and $233 for the vice-chair.
The discussion bogged down when trustees began voting and debating when the increase should come into effect.
Trustees eventually agreed to delay a decision until their next meeting.
