Former trustee MaryAnn Mortensen received almost an entire year’s pay in 2015/16 despite not attending any school board meetings, according to the district’s statement of financial information report.
Mortensen, who was elected for a second term as trustee in the 2014 civic election, stepped down abruptly last March. Before her resignation, however, she hadn’t attended any school board meetings since August 2015, a fact confirmed by superintendent Pat Duncan in March.
Despite her absence, Mortensen was paid $15,296 during the last fiscal year (from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016), according to the district’s statement of financial information (SOFI) report.
The Record tried to contact Mortensen for details on her departure in the spring but emails and phone calls were never returned. A letter of resignation Mortensen sent to the district in March did not give a reason either, according to Duncan.
Salaries top $49 million
One hundred and forty-eight school district staffers made more than $75,000 in 2015/16.
The New Westminster school district paid about $21.9 million in salary costs to these employees, with an additional $27.3 million going to employees who made less than $75,000, according to the statement of financial information (SOFI) report.
The seven elected trustees cost the district $149,746 plus $2,847 in expenses, according to the annual report.
Expenses for staff members topped $134,000, with Chris Sabiston, the district’s director of information technology, claiming more than $21,000 in expenses during the 2015/16 fiscal year.
New Westminster, like all districts across the province, must release its SOFI report every December. It requires districts to publish the names of all employees who earn more than $75,000 that year, and must include a list of suppliers paid more than $25,000 at a time. It also includes the remuneration paid to elected trustees and expenses claimed.
To read the full report go to newwestschools.ca/our-board/budgetfinancial-reports.
New Westminster school district’s top five earners of 2015/16:
- Pat Duncan, superintendent, $155,834
- Janet Grant, associate superintendent, $132,405
- Kevin Lorenz, secretary treasurer, $131,660
- Phil Cookson, principal, $127,731
- Robert Weston, director of human resources, $118,340
Highest paid principals in the district in 2015/16:
- Phil Cookson, principal, New Westminster Secondary School, $127,731
- Lisa Nasato, acting principal, École Glenbrook Middle School, $115,575
- Debbie Jones, principal, Queensborough Middle School, $114,370
- Marlene Jack, principal, École Glenbrook Middle School, $113,070
- Chris Evans, principal, École Richard McBride Elementary School, $111,014
