Following the lead of boards across the province, Saanich trustees variously referred to McRae’s request as “ludicrous,” “frustrating” and a “monumental misstep” at a meeting this week.
They also called the timing of McRae’s demand unrealistic, coming as it did just a few weeks before Christmas.
McRae sent all boards a letter in early December asking them to find ways to cover a 1.5 per cent wage hike for support staff under the government’s co-operative gains mandate. The mandate requires employers to find savings within existing budgets to pay for modest wage increases.
“To be clear, generated savings obtained by boards must not negatively impact the delivery of education programming for students,” he wrote.
McRae asked for the savings plans to be submitted by mid-January.
The Greater Victoria school board was among the first to reject McRae’s demand, and other boards across the province have followed suit.
“I’m frustrated to receive a letter like this,” long-time Saanich trustee and former chairwoman Helen Parker told a committee meeting this week.
“I’m frustrated in general. For one thing, this is quite precedent-setting from my perspective; we’ve never been asked to fund, in my recollection, an amount for raises.”
Saanich would have to come up with $200,000 this year and another $400,000 next year.
“I don’t get it,” Parker said. “It seems to me government has had no difficulty for the past 12 years or so … having boards reduce services levels to the public. Now they’re asking us to come up with another amount of money — $200,000 this year — out of our budget without reducing it.
“I don’t know what they think we’ve been doing all these years to put in these balanced budgets. I just think it’s ludicrous.”
Trustee Tim Dunford said he understands the pressure on the Liberals to balance their own budget. But he questioned the decision to send boards an “unreasonable” demand letter just before Christmas without any prior discussions. “What I see this as being is a monumental misstep by the ministry in process,” he said.
Saanich trustees agreed to discuss the issue at a full meeting of the board next week, but most said they favoured rejecting McRae’s request.
Board chairman Wayne Hunter said the message — “We just can’t find it; we’re scrambling like hell now” — wouldn’t be a new one.
He noted that McRae faces a coming provincial election as well as a growing backlash from boards across the province.
“He’s got a lot on his plate to try to sort out,” Hunter said. “So I would rather just stay with the wave and put the pressure back in his court.”
