Ontario School Board 2013 Sunshine List, Statistics and Analysis

Here is some statistics and analysis of Ontario 2013 sunshine data (released in March 2014) for Ontario school boards. The total number of individual on these sunshine lists is 12,301. The total amount of salaries earned by those on the list is $1,410,230,821.86. The average salary for a school board employee on the sunshine lists is $114,643.59.

The following statistics for each school board, show the number of employees, the average salary for someone on the list and the total salaries for those on the list for the school board. The link for each school board goes to detailed data for each school board, including individual sunshine list information, as well as the top ten for salary for each institution.

Algoma District School Board 85, $116,392.34, $9,893,349.18

Algonquin & Lakeshore Catholic District School Board 65, $117,436.33, $7,633,361.58

Avon Maitland District School Board 105, $113,349.02, $11,901,647.26

Bluewater District School Board 91, $117,363.56, $10,680,084.26

Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board 89, $111,293.85, $9,905,152.92

Bruce-Grey Catholic District School Board 29, $123,557.07, $3,583,155.01

Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario 73, $114,896.61, $8,387,452.66

Conseil des ecoles catholiques du Centre-Est 135, $117,910.12, $15,917,865.98

Conseil des écoles publiques de l'Est de l'Ontario 84, $116,227.95, $9,763,147.86

Conseil scolaire catholique de district des Grandes Rivieres 71, $116,456.21, $8,268,390.63

Conseil scolaire catholique du Nouvel-Ontario 76, $119,208.19, $9,059,822.22

Conseil scolaire catholique Franco-Nord 41, $112,944.36, $4,630,718.63

Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud 85, $120,190.32, $10,216,177.46

Conseil scolaire de district catholique de l'Est ontarien 83, $114,757.02, $9,524,832.79

Conseil scolaire de district catholique des Aurores boreales 18, $119,195.75, $2,145,523.44

Conseil scolaire de district des ecoles catholiques du Sud-Ouest 64, $116,643.76, $7,465,200.52

Conseil scolaire public du Grand Nord de l'Ontario 39, $114,694.14, $4,473,071.56

Conseil scolaire public du Nord-Est de l'Ontario 27, $117,425.48, $3,170,487.92

Conseil scolaire Viamonde 86, $116,072.22, $9,982,210.74

District School Board of Niagara 203, $116,499.26, $23,649,349.54

District School Board Ontario North East 57, $121,645.22, $6,933,777.56

Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board 636, $112,953.55, $71,838,459.27

Durham Catholic District School Board 188, $112,273.44, $21,107,407.28

Durham District School Board 357, $112,466.81, $40,150,650.25

Grand Erie District School Board 158, $114,885.63, $18,151,928.96

Greater Essex County District School Board 222, $114,750.09, $25,474,519.67

Halton Catholic District School Board 145, $116,114.50, $16,836,603.06

Halton District School Board 314, $114,583.61, $35,979,254.64

Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board 273, $115,983.21, $31,663,416.12

Hamilton Wentworth Catholic District School Board 156, $113,990.58, $17,782,530.00

Hastings & Prince Edward District School Board 96, $115,988.86, $11,134,930.70

Huron-Perth Catholic District School Board 35, $117,403.86, $4,109,135.03

Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board 44, $118,919.34, $5,232,451.12

James Bay Lowlands Secondary School Board 2, $123,131.72, $246,263.44

John McGivney Children's Centre School Authority 2, $111,565.83, $223,131.66

Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board 188, $113,699.16, $21,375,441.71

Keewatin-Patricia District School Board 52, $117,456.07, $6,107,715.53

Kenora Catholic District School Board 15, $121,724.17, $1,825,862.61

KidsAbility School Authority 1, $116,925.00, $116,925.00

Lakehead District School Board 79, $113,681.14, $8,980,810.31

Lambton Kent District School Board 134, $116,852.13, $15,658,185.23

Limestone District School Board 130, $112,903.69, $14,677,479.60

London District Catholic School Board 92, $119,067.27, $10,954,188.47

Moose Factory Island District School Area Board 1, $108,744.00, $108,744.00

Moosonee District School Area Board 2, $109,683.42, $219,366.85

Near North District School Board 76, $114,761.07, $8,721,841.12

Niagara Catholic District School Board 121, $116,018.66, $14,038,258.28

Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board 35, $113,223.09, $3,962,808.15

Northeastern Catholic District School Board 25, $115,889.49, $2,897,237.36

Northwest Catholic District School Board 13, $118,657.29, $1,542,544.81

Ottawa Carleton District School Board 410, $112,013.05, $45,925,351.40

Ottawa Catholic School Board 208, $116,524.75, $24,237,148.83

Peel District School Board 821, $113,892.28, $93,505,562.63

Peterborough Victoria Northumberland & Clarington Catholic DSB 88, $113,723.15, $10,007,637.47

Protestant Separate School Board of the Town of Penetanguishene 1, $117,009.07, $117,009.07

Rainbow District School Board 108, $115,357.04, $12,458,560.68

Rainy River District School Board 39, $116,850.65, $4,557,175.16

Renfrew County Catholic District School Board 44, $113,949.50, $5,013,777.99

Renfrew County District School Board 67, $118,506.13, $7,939,910.61

Simcoe County District School Board 225, $112,561.27, $25,326,285.74

Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board 156, $114,458.69, $17,855,555.93

St. Clair Catholic District School Board 63, $123,036.06, $7,751,271.70

Sudbury Catholic District School Board 49, $116,454.69, $5,706,279.99

Superior-Greenstone District School Board 27, $115,160.27, $3,109,327.24

Superior North Catholic District School Board 11, $120,337.70, $1,323,714.69

Thames Valley District School Board 327, $114,983.40, $37,599,571.24

Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board 56, $111,127.79, $6,223,156.47

Toronto Catholic District School Board 686, $113,992.15, $78,198,611.97

Toronto District School Board 1536, $115,886.32, $178,001,381.55

Trillium Lakelands District School Board 115, $115,260.56, $13,254,964.55

Upper Canada District School Board 176, $115,198.86, $20,275,000.11

Upper Grand District School Board 143, $116,169.28, $16,612,206.63

Waterloo Catholic District School Board 144, $112,477.73, $16,196,793.56

Waterloo Region District School Board 414, $110,435.42, $45,720,262.22

Wellington Catholic District School Board 40, $119,001.04, $4,760,041.79

Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board 147, $113,379.91, $16,666,846.93

York Catholic District School Board 388, $113,700.56, $44,115,816.01

York Region District School Board 607, $114,446.01, $69,468,729.75

Ontario Public Elementary Teachers to Get Extra 2% Increase in 2014

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne has given Ontario public school elementary teachers an extra 2% salary increase in 2014 to match the separate and French elementary teachers. This Globe article has a good synopsis. From the article:

ETFO lost 2 per cent in wage hikes back in 2009 under former education minister and now Premier Kathleen Wynne, because it failed to meet a deadline for accepting a contract. At the time, other teacher groups signed offers of 12 per cent in pay hikes over four years. At the time, Ms. Wynne made a last-ditch effort to avoid a strike – 10.4 per cent over four years – which ETFO grudgingly accepted.

Ms. Sandals said the government’s change of heart on the issue is a matter of fairness, saying elementary school teachers should not be punished because their union negotiated them an inferior deal several years ago.
“It’s not about did the unions have good tactics or bad tactics. It’s about the individual teacher,” she said. “Now, when we look at this, and we look at a public policy point of view going forward: why would we pay Catholic and French teachers more than public teachers?”

One stat that I found interesting in the article with regards to the cost of the 2% increase:

The move by the government contradicts earlier statements by Premier Kathleen Wynne and Education Minister Liz Sandals that there would be no new money on the table for teachers. The pay hike will cost the treasury $112-million every year.

The salary increases would take effect in September, 2014, after the current contract expires.

Ms. Sandals also left the door open to further pay increases at that time, stressing that this deal only represents an agreement on the wage parity issue, and that no other parameters had been set for future contract negotiations.

I'm surprised that the 2% costs  $112 million. That means the entire current salary cost of the public elementary teachers is $5.6 billion. One other thing to take note of is that the current contract is over in 14 months and the province will have to bargain with the teachers again next summer, still with a large deficit. That won't be fun. Expect more teacher unrest, although whether the Wynne government remains in power next summer remains to be seen.  

Laurel Broten Imposes Contracts on Teachers

Liberal education minister Laurel Broten has used Bill 115 to impose contracts on elementary and secondary school teachers in Ontario. Where do we go from here?

I can't say I'm really sure. Obviously the teachers unions are not happy. I would suspect at the least that they will instruct members to avoid supervising extra-curricular activities as they aren't required anyways. Probably more one day job actions as well, as their isn't a lot the minister can do about them (that I'm aware of). The teachers unions I also assume will continue to challenge Bill 115 in court, but that could take considerable time, probably more than the two years Bill 115 covers. There's no guarantee the teachers will win and I would guess that any judge would be reluctant to order the province to pay considerable sums of back pay in a decision.

One thing to note is that Bill 115 covers only two years and we will be right back to negotiating new contracts for the school year starting in September 2014. I'm assuming the province's finances won't be in much better shape by then so there will be more clashes with teachers unions. So likely less than two years of continuing job action, followed by more labour problems. Should be interesting.

The Star's Martin Regg Cohn's Latest Column, Apparently Public Sector Salaries Haven't Increased So Much

I was reading Martin Regg Cohn's latest column on Ontario public sector compensation and I got to wondering about some of his stats, where they came from and what they mean:

"Since the Liberals took power in 2003, average public sector wages increased by 28 per cent compared to the provincial average of 24 per cent, while inflation was 17 per cent. With wages soaking up $55 billion a year, it is mathematically impossible to get a grip on public finances without focussing on public servants in the short term."

Now first I'll point out that the public sector is quite large in Ontario, so if the public sector wages have increased by 28% versus 24% for the provincial average, the private sector average will be somewhat lower than 24%, maybe only 21%. So minus the 17% inflation that would be only a 4% increase for the private sector versus 11% for the public sector. Looked at that way, things don't seem as comparable.

Further, what public sector wages does this 28% stat refer to? All public sector workers in Ontario, including federal and municipal? Over the past few years many municipal workers (excluding fire and police) haven't done that great (I think Hamilton's city workers are on a 1.5% salary increase per year although I should check that). Ontario teachers are coming off a four year deal with approximately 3% salary increases. I would be curious to know what the stat for teachers is since 2003. Plus for physicians, how do they fit in? Are they included in the public sector wage stats? Their increases over the Dalton McGuinty era has been nothing short of stunning compared to private sector increases.

One last point about these stats, I'm guessing they are not reporting on pension benefits. Given that we're in an era of ultra low interest rates, the cost of providing defined benefit pensions in the public sector is high compared to the defined contribution pensions or no pensions in the private sector. Factoring in the present value of these pensions would no doubt further warp the 28% stat.

Ontario Teachers: Don't Fear the Grid Freeze

I haven't said much lately, but this Star article does a good job of explaining some of the latest machinations between the various Ontario teachers' unions, McGuinty, Hudak and Horwath. It also points out that the real big savings is freezing movement on the salary grid for teachers that haven't maxed out yet.

Hudak going along with the deal or a slightly modified deal isn't bad strategy. If you weren't a fan of the teachers' unions before, McGuinty suddenly being tough isn't go to win you over now.

Horwath is in an interesting spot. Certainly I can see why she's going all in with the teachers, but I wouldn't mind knowing what my MPP thinks is a fair deal considering Ontario's deficit woes. Luckily for her she'll never have to say.