The Vancouver school district has lost a tug-of-war with its Burnaby counterpart over secretary-treasurer Greg Frank.
Frank announced Tuesday that – despite having accepted a position in Vancouver effective Dec. 1 – he’s staying in Burnaby.
“We did everything we possibly could to get him to stay,” local school board chair Ron Burton told the NOW.
In September, Burton suggested one of the reasons Frank had tendered his resignation and accepted the CFO post in Vancouver was that the Burnaby district couldn’t give him a raise because of a provincial salary freeze for exempt staff like assistant-superintendents and secretary-treasurers.
For the last five years, Frank has earned an average of $30,000 less in salary and benefits than his Vancouver counterparts.
The freeze remains in place, according to Burton, so the Burnaby board was unable to lure him back that way.
Burton said he pointed instead to conflict on the Vancouver board, which has been deeply divided since the last municipal election, when a lopsided Vision Vancouver majority was replaced by four Vision trustees, four from the Non-Partisan Association and one Green member.
(Burnaby’s current trustees all belong to the Burnaby Citizens Association.)
“What I told him was, ‘Look at our board. Look at how congenial we are, how we’re all on the same page, and in Vancouver they’re at war, and you’ll be a part of that for the next five years,’” Burton said. “I think he knew that, as well.”
When asked to comment on Burton’s assertion, Frank said, “No, I’ve got a whole lot of respect for the Vancouver school district and Burnaby school district, and they’ve been understanding and supportive as I’ve gone through this thought process.”
Frank said his change of heart was a personal decision.
“All I can say is that it’s been a process that I’ve gone through,” he said, “and Burnaby is a great place and this is where I want to stay at the end of the day. It’s about the opportunity here. It’s about the people I’m working with. It’s the quality of life. It’s all of those things.”
Whatever led Frank to reverse his decision, it’s good news for Burnaby schools, according to Burton.
“It’s very good for the district,” Burton said. “Greg’s been an instrumental part of it for years and will continue to be until he retires, hopefully.”
