Size matters when it comes to the pay of top school officials, documents reveal.
Income numbers released by School District 43 this week show superintendent Patricia Gartland pulled in $254,552 in the 2019-2020 school year ending June 30.
That’s less than Surrey and Vancouver superintendents make, and puts her in the rankings of one of B.C.’s highest paid school salary earners, owing to the fact that SD43, with 70 schools and 32,000 students is the province’s third largest.
By comparison, the CEO of the province's biggest school district, Surrey superintendent Jordan Tinney, took in $286,754; Vancouver's Suzanne Hoffman, the superintendent of the second-largest district, made $276,397, reporting from the Tri-City News sister paper, the Burnaby Now shows.
See below for interactive salary database (2019-2020)
But with COVID-19 eliminating international travel, Gartland had to stay closer to home.
Her $31,078.23 in expenses were dramatically reduced over the previous year when Gartland spent $73,172, on travel, much of it to promote the district’s international education program.
SD43’s top earners
Secretary treasure and CFO - Chris Nicolls - $202,834
Asst. superintendent - Carey Chute - $191,368
Asst. superintendent - Reno Ciolfi - $191,368
Asst. superintendent - Gerald Shong - $190,235
Asst. superintendent - Robert Zambrano - $190,235
Dir. Human Resources - Randy Manhas - $180,470
Dir. of Facilities - Ivano Cecchini - $180,328
Dir. of Instruction - Info Tech - Stephen Whiffin - $160,749
Expenses down
Meanwhile, COVID-19 took a bite out of expenses for SD43 staff, with the clampdown on conferences and international travel.
Overall, expenses were down 33% in the district to $514,390 in the 2019-2020 school year, compared to $767,413 in the previous year.
Meanwhile, wages continued to climb with total remuneration paid out to employees up 4.66% .
The information is contained in the latest Statement of Financial Information that reports out on individuals making more than $75,000 and payouts to services and contractors.
Here’s how the numbers break down:
2020 Totals
• Total remuneration for people earning more than $75,000 in 2020 = $142,765,158
• Total Remuneration for people making less than $75,000 = $115,201,011
• Total Remuneration in 2020 = $257,966,169
2019 Totals
• Total remuneration for people earning more than $75,000 in 2020 = $126,952,671
• Total Remuneration for people making less than $75,000 = $118,972,739
• Total Remuneration in 2020 = $245,925,410
— With files and interactive document creation from Gary McKenna
Here's an interactive data base for SD43 salaries (2019-2020)
— with files from Gary McKenna
