The Burnaby school district is losing one of the best money men in the province because it couldn’t give him a raise, according to school board chair Ron Burton.
Greg Frank, School District No. 41’s secretary-treasurer and chief financial officer for more than 15 years, tendered his resignation Tuesday, announcing he was taking the secretary-treasurer’s post in the Vancouver school district starting Dec. 1.
Frank’s wage in Burnaby had been “below par,” according to Burton, but, because of a provincial freeze on salaries for exempt staff like assistant-superintendents and secretary-treasurers, the district wasn’t able to offer him more money to stay.
“Greg is a consummate professional who worked tirelessly for the benefit of the organization,” Burnaby board chair Ron Burton stated in a press release Wednesday. “We deeply regret that we were not permitted to address the ongoing issues regarding the exempt staff compensation freeze.”
Frank’s salary and benefits in 2012/13 totalled $173,716, according to the most recent data published by the education ministry, compared to $216,302 for former Vancouver secretary-treasurer Rick Krowchuk, who had been in the position since 2011.
For the last five years, Frank has gotten an average of about $30,000 less in salary and benefits than his Vancouver counterparts.
His annual base salary has been an average of $20,000 less.
Burton told the NOW the board decided not to give Frank a raise about seven years ago, thinking it would be able to reconsider an increase the following year, but then the province imposed the freeze.
“His salary is below par, and we weren’t able to address that and raise his salary to what it should be,” Burton said, adding Frank “never complained.”
The board appealed to the province, Burton said, trying different ways to get around the freeze, like changing Frank’s job description, but the province wouldn’t budge.
“It’s absolutely craziness,” Burton said.
The district will now spend between $40,000 and $50,000 to find another secretary-treasurer, according to the board chair.
Frank, meanwhile, said he hadn’t been looking for another position.
“But this opportunity did come up,” he told the NOW, “and this type of opportunity doesn’t come up very often, so I chose to pursue it.”
The outgoing secretary-treasurer declined to comment on whether he would have stayed in Burnaby if the district had been able to offer him a raise but said money was among the reasons he accepted the Vancouver post.
“It’s the full package in Vancouver,” Frank said. “It’s the opportunity. Of course the compensation is part of the overall package. It’s part of the issue there, sure.”
Frank joined the Burnaby school district in January 2000 from the Nanaimo school district, according to the district’s press release.
His resignation is effective Nov. 30.
“He’s going to be a great loss to the district,” Burton said. “He’s been a tremendous asset over the years.”
