To the Editor,
Re: School superintendent receives pay increase, May 5.
I’m struggling to understand how anyone can receive a compensation increase of 20 per cent. I’m struggling even more as this is the provincial education system and everyone is aware of the underfunding, the closures of schools, and cuts in programs.
The school board, the trustees and John Blain should be embarrassed at their decision. How is this financially responsible? How does this support our students? We have vulnerable children requiring educational assistants, yet we don’t replace them when they are sick because it costs too much, however we can afford an annual increase of $37,588 for our superintendent.
As a Nanaimo resident, I would like to see the school board re-evaluate this decision as it is not in the ‘affordability zone.’ I would like to see every parent in Nanaimo protest this salary increase, as it comes out of your tax dollars and out of the resources supplied to your child’s school. This money comes out of the SD68 budget; it’s not extra money provided by the government.
We recognize that education is underfunded in our province but clearly not the superintendents’ salaries.
Rick deGrootNanaimo
To the Editor,
Re: School superintendent receives pay increase, May 5.
After reading this article, I fear that some people could have been misled by the general tone of the piece and the information provided therein. The way it is written, it would be fairly easy for your readers to come to the conclusion that the superintendent of School District 68 is being given an almost 20 per cent pay increase as some form of ‘catch up’ since 2011.
According to the district’s website, Blain has been receiving regular increases well above the rate of inflation all along. Now, I understand that you reported that it was the superintendent’s pay structure that hasn’t been updated since 2011 and Blain has only been the superintendent since last April, but as deputy superintendent, he received increases of 12.3 per cent in 2012 (having just been promoted from a principal, 4.7 per cent in 2013, 6.2 per cent in 2014, 6.6 per cent in 2015 (having been promoted to superintendent) and now he is scheduled to receive a 19.6 per cent increase in July.
A 59.2 per cent pay increase over six years, when compared to the 7.5 per cent over six years that teachers were awarded in 2014 after a long, personally costly strike, stands in stark contrast.
Hans J. LarsenLantzville
