A former School District 43 secretary treasurer who resigned in January 2013 - not long after a multi-million-dollar deficit was revealed - was still on the district payroll until the end of June this year, more than 18 months after his departure.
According to the just-released Statement of Financial Information (SOFI), Richard Humphreys, whose last day of work was Dec. 19, 2012 and whose Jan. 1, 2013 resignation was mutually agreed upon, was paid $160,238.64 for the school year that ended June 30, 2014.
Board chair Judy Shirra said the severance package was negotiated by the BC Public School Employers' Association and was spread out in part to help the district, which was facing financial difficulties at the time.
"It was negotiated because of the way our deficit was running. Rather than paying lump sum, Rick, being a secretary treasurer, understood the impact, it was negotiated for length," said Shirra, a Port Coquitlam trustee.
Humphreys was also paid $148,495 for the 2012/'13 school year, SOFI documents for the previous year show.
Current secretary treasurer Mark Ferrari said he couldn't provide any additional information about Humphreys' severance package because it is confidential.
After Humphreys' departure in January 2013, the district faced numerous financial difficulties, which resulted in $5 million in non-staff cuts and a $10-million deficit, and the hiring of forensic auditors, whose recommendations are now being implemented.
The latest SOFI report also shows that former employee Maureen Dockendorf, who is now the provincial education ministry's superintendent of literacy and numeracy, was also paid by SD43 up until the end of June. She earned $145,199, the documents show.
But the district did manage to whittle down the number of employees making over $100,000, with 117 hitting six figures during the last school year, compared to 127 in 2012/'13.
Among the top wage earners were superintendent Tom Grant, who will retire in mid-January, and members of his leadership team. The following salaries were paid out by the end of June 2014
Grant, superintendent - $197,497;
Jamie Ross, director of human resources - $136.020;
Carey Chute, assistant superintendent - $137,871;
Reno Ciolfi, assistant superintendent - $140,586;
Patricia Gartland, assistant superintendent - $145,199 (she will become superintendent in January);
Sylvia Russell, formerly assistant superintendent, now superintendent of Maple Ridge- Pitt Meadows school district - $145,199;
Julie Pearce, assistant superintendent - $145,199.
