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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday September 27, 2006 - 11 Pay hike retroactive Continued from page 1 community reps, all of whom serve on school councils - have recommended back pay that would give each current trustee $8,153 to cover the retroactive period of Sept. 1, 2005-Sept. 1, 2006, as set out by the Ministry of Education. An additional amount of $1,882 would be paid to cover Sept. 1-Nov. 30, 2006, the end date for trustees' current term of office. As for a trustee's regular pay, called an honoraria, the group recommends it be bumped to $13,159 per year for the new four-year term starting Dec. 1, 2006 and ending Nov. 30, 2010. As in the past, the ministry is retaining a provision that gives the trustee who is elected chair of the board an extra $5,000 per year; the vice-chair gets an additional $2,500. There is also an extra student enrollment component and the local committee is recommending the chair and vice-chair get an additional $2,290 and $1,145 respectively. That leaves the new annual recommended pay at $20,475 for the board chair and $16,830 for the vice-chair. A series of formulae were provided by the government to come up with trustees' potential retroactive pay and increases to their annual honoraria. Trustees' annual pay has been $5,000 since the Conservative government of Mike Harris changed the pay scale in 1997 to a flat-rate system for the 72 school boards in the province. Previously, trustees set their own pay, which, depending on the board, could be two to 10 times higher than the current $5,000. In 1996, Halton trustees received $12,252 annually while the board chair got $18,372. One potential pay increase the local citizens' group rejected was a maximum $50 for each meeting attended by trustees as a member of a couple of specific sub-committees. They recommend no pay to attend those meetings. A new policy on trustee pay needs to be passed by the board before the citizens' committee recommendations are enacted. A special board meeting will be held before the next committee-of-the-whole board meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 4. The ministry expects boards to have established the new pay scale by Oct. 31. Milton trustee and board chair Paul Tate said that the approximately $77,000 in additional annual costs to the board is almost negligible in context of the board's $380 million annual budget. "The people that I've talked to (in the public) about this thought we should get paid more, but they didn't think we should get paid for attending committee meetings, and I agree with them," he said. Board superintendent of finance Steve Parfeniuk told trustees he expects the increased trustee pay to be covered by the ministry eventually. "If the ministry of education doesn't provide the additional funds we will have to look to within our non-classroom (funding) envelopes; it will not come out of the classroom. (But) I expect as we move forward that the government will pick up that cost," he said. Canadian Cancer Society Oakville Unit Taking Steps Against Breast Cancer NOVEMBER 5, 2006 · OAKVILLE PLACE · REGISTRATION 7:30 A.M. Look Who's On Our Team! Join Us In the Fight Against Breast Cancer. Register ONLINE now at www.cancer.ca For more information, please call (905) 845-5231 Site Sponsor Radio Media Sponsor Print Media Sponsor 10th Annual ATHENA Gala Dinner THANK YOU for attending our 43rd Annual Bathtub Race and Campaign Kickoff Event on September 24th! A special thanks to these sponsors and supporters: Wednesday, October 25, 2006 6:00 pm Champagne Reception 7:00 pm Dinner Mayor Ann Mulvale Len's Haulage Band World Squeaky the Clown & Friends Town of Oakville The Running Room - Oakville Oakville BIA St. John Ambulance REACT Bean There Cafe, Green Bean Coffee Roasting, O'Finn's Irish Temper, Tea and Tonic, House of Flowers, Harvest Spa, Haberdashers, Thyme Restaurant, Simply Chocolate, Jacadi Paris, Lollipop Kid Culture, Pinocchio's Pick of the Crop, Whole Foods Market Geoff Robinson, Emma Jowett, Dave Brown, Nicole McKnight, Laura Scott, Paul Courmier, Bob Van Cleef, Tara Decuhna Oakville Parent-Child Centre, Halton Multicultural Council, Transitions for Youth, SENACA Seniors Day Program, STRIDE, Halton Family Services, Hope Place Centres, Oakville Distress Centre Susan Aglukark Guest speaker Tickets: $75 Includes Champagne Reception and Wine with Dinner To order tickets go to www.companyofwomen.ca where you can order online, email info@athenaoakville.ca or phone 905-467-7919 Help us invest $2.25 million in our community this year! Oakville Conference and Banquet Centre 2515 Wyecroft Road, Oakville (just south of the QEW at Bronte Road)