WELLINGTON COUNTY – Officials with two local school boards say the dramatic rise in the number of board employees on the 2018 “sunshine list” is a result of professional advancement and a scheduling anomaly, not large pay increases.
The province’s annual list of public sector employees making at least $100,000, released on March 27, included 645 employees from the local school boards, double the 2017 total of 320.
The increase is most pronounced at the Wellington Catholic District School Board (WCDSB), which has 301 employees on the 2018 list – more than quadruple its 2017 total of 69.
Director of education Tamara Nugent explained WCDSB employees received an extra bi-weekly payment in 2018 because a pay date fell on Jan. 1, 2019, a statutory holiday.
“According to our collective agreement the payment date is required to be on the business day prior to the statutory holiday, which landed in the 2018 calendar year,” Nugent told the Advertiser.
The anomaly meant staff received 27 pays instead of the usual 26. Nugent added, “there were no additional payments made to teachers for their annual salary.”
At the Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB), 344 employees were on the 2018 sunshine list, up 37% from 252 in 2017.
Spokesperson Heather Loney stated in an email that the board has close to 5,600 employees, meaning just 6% of UGDSB staff members made over $100,000.
“The vast majority of the employees newly on the list are long-serving employees who have reached their highest qualifications, the highest level on the grid, and have additional allowances,” Loney stated in an email to the Advertiser.
– With files from Jaime Myslik
