30 million to spend and here's how some of it was distributed

School District 52 provided a tangible lesson in Economics last week with release of their financial statement of 2007-08, a document which included a breakdown on the top salaries of the School District.

Included in the stream of statistics from payroll was the disclosure that some 55 teachers and administrators made at least 75,000 dollars, while six District employees made it to the six figure mark of over 100,000 dollars.

In addition to the salary review, the School District also outlined many of its major suppliers and their renumeration, all told some 8 million dollars was spent in the statement period, highlighting the impact on the economy that the School District has.

Also of interest to local taxpayers will be the breakdown of monies paid to local trustees and expenses claimed by them in the quest for better education for the North Coast School District.

The details and roll call of the renumerated was featured in Wednesday's Daily News.

School district's top earners unveiled in report
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Page one

Last week School District 52 released their financial statement from the 2007-08 year, detailing how the nearly $30 million total budget was spent.

The Statement of Financial Information explains SD52's fiscal year which ended on June 30, 2008. Among other expenditures is a list of all employees paid at least $75,000, which includes 55 teachers and administrators. There were six people who surpassed a $100,000 salary, including Kim Morris ($102,439), Sheila Wells ($103,519), Sandy Jones ($104,791), Pamela Wynn ($104,834), Eric Mercer ($110,605), and Bill Ford ($111,622). Along with salaries, the statement also shows the total expenses billed by those employees, 22 of whom did not bill any expenses. The amounts ranged from as little as $115 to more than $14,000, and totaled $87,191. The total expenses claimed by the remaining district employees (those paid less than $75,000) was $94,914.

The statement also showed the remuneration for trustees, which totaled $68,048. Brian Johnson, Bart Kuntz, Barry McDonald and Louisa Sanchez were each paid $9,259, while Janet Mirau earned $9,692, Vice-Chair Russell Wiens earned $9,760, and Chair Tina Last made $11,557. The total expenses claimed by trustees was $10,078, more than half of which was allocated to Sanchez.

Payments for all supplies and services purchased by SD52 is included in the statement as well, amounting to $8.58 million. Together, 54 vendors were paid anywhere from $25,000 to $2 million last year, including $231,483 to BC Hydro, $114,755 to CityWest, $36,921 to Coca-Cola Bottling Ltd., $153,173 to Farwest Bus Lines, $39,297 to Petro-Canada, and $141,935 to West Coast Launch Ltd.

The Statement of Financial Information for SD52 is a public document and is available upon request at the School District Office located at 634 Sixth Ave. East.