‘How can you justify such an increase?’: School trustee renumeration hike sparks backlash

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Bluesky
• Share on X
• Copy Link

The district said the 7.4 per cent increase in remuneration would keep salaries in line with other districts of a similar size.

Charger rollout

Phased approach planned for EV chargers at Vernon ALC

Apr 24, 2026

Secondary Dwellings

Coldstream considering more housing on agricultural lands

Apr 24, 2026

Wildfire Risks

Okanagan's Fire Danger Rating already up to Moderate

Apr 23, 2026

West Vancouver, New Westminster, Sooke, Saanich, Comox Valley and Cowichan Valley were listed as comparable districts based on enrolment numbers.

On Wednesday, trustee Jenn Comazzetto vocally disapproved of the pay hike and proposed an amendment that would see the pay hike capped to a much lower two per cent.

“I know at work when I’m going into my manager asking for a raise, I’m begging for a two per cent raise,” she said.

“I’m concerned about the optics of us giving ourselves a seven per cent increase when everyone else is limited to a two per cent increase. I know I do put in a lot of work and I know everyone puts in a lot of work on this but the total increase here is more than what we’ve given for some of the climate action initiatives, for websites just to even help educate our students better.”

But her push to cap the raise to two per cent failed to garner any support.

“I see the percentage and I sympathize with the perception of a high percentage but when I look at the amount we are talking about $100 a month and frankly I’m not going to apologize for $100 a month,” Trustee Mark Olsen said.

Board Chair Robert Lee also defended the increase and said a lot of work goes into fulfilling a school trustee role which often includes meetings that take place on top of regular jobs.

“This board that I’m working with right now is extremely hard working. I know everyone of them is involved in committees,” he said.

“From my own point of view when I took this thing on, I said to the family ‘Look I am taking this on as a trustee, therefore I am giving up my portion of our business.’ If I was to look at this strictly from a dollar point of view, I wouldn’t be here,” Lee said.

The approved motion means school trustees will now receive $18,093 annually. The board chair and vice -chair will also see a slight increase. The board chair’s renumeration will jump 6.4 per cent to $20,842 and the vice chair’s renumeration will increase 6.9 per cent to $19,320.