There were some significant departures in the New Westminster school district this year, but money trouble is what 2013 will likely be remembered for.
John Woudzia, who has spent more than eight years leading the district, is moving on in February. As well, former secretary-treasurer Brian Sommerfeldt left the district early in the year, though he continues to cash in a paycheque and will for a few more months. (He left a couple of months after the district’s dire financial state was revealed to the public.) As well, New Westminster Secondary School principal Mary Bushman retired in the summer.
Along with those three big-wigs leaving, the district let go of about 62 staff members – eight per cent of its workforce – in order to balance the district’s books this school year.
The district still owes the province $4.8 million for previous year’s shortfalls, but there was finally some good news in December when current secretary-treasurer (and assistant superintendent) Al Balanuik told the board that the district’s current budget has a $500,000 surplus (though it’s just mid-way through the budget process, so the final numbers will change). The district is going to need those surpluses to start paying off its debt.
As for what caused the district’s deficit, it depends who you ask – the New Westminster Teachers’ Union blames provincial funding (or lack of it, as they believe), while others say bad management and planning is to blame.
Then there is the fact that the district paid out about $1 million in benefits for job-sharing teachers working a minimum of two days a week. The district also spends another $276,000 a year for teachers to use – at their discretion – on professional development. Each teacher in New West receives $750 annually as per the contract, but in nearby Burnaby, teachers receive just $110 per year for their individual development (the figure increases slightly with general wage increases), according to Burnaby's collective agreement.
The realities of the district’s finances also hit the high school, which had its budget cut by 90 per cent. The hefty claw back didn’t have a huge impact this year because of leftover cash from previous years, but parents question what the 2014/15 school year will look like.
Then, of course, there are the school board politics – where there are deep divisions between the Voice New Westminster trustees and the labour-endorsed trustees. Mending political fences doesn’t seem to be a priority given that a Voice trustee didn’t get voted in as a vice-chair (instead trustees Jonina Campbell and Michael Ewen switched places – her becoming chair, him vice-chair).
Now that we are moving into an election, it seems unlikely that the politicking will subside anytime soon.
Now I’m left wondering: Who’s going to run?
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