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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 2012-04-05, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2012.Nearly 100 school board employees on Sunshine ListNot all of the 97 employees on theAvon Maitland District School Board (AMDSB) “Sunshine List” this year may be on it next year, says the board’s superintendent of human resources. The list, required under the 1996 Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act, names every AMDSB employee who’s made $100,000 or more in the previous year. At the board’s March 27 meeting,Jodie Baker told trustees that somenames appear on the list becausethey also taught summer school. Three elementary school teachers and four high school teachers made the list. Baker added that other employees appear on the list because they cashed out a deferred salary, receiving a lump sum of money that had been previously garnished off their paycheques. Director of Education TedDoherty topped the list at $188,000made in 2011 while elementaryschool vice-principal Gary Courseymade the least on the list at $100,240.75. The list was made up of 41 elementary school principals, 11 elementary school vice- principals, 12 secondary school principals and 10 secondary school vice-principals. Asked whether the number of names on the list is increasing,Baker said yes. Last year, 83AMDSB employees made the list.Baker said that as salaries increase,“that number will go up.”Trustee Robert Hunking asked if the province was going to adjust the $100,000 figure for inflation. Critics of the Sunshine List say that $100,000 in 1996 is equivalent to $139,000 today. Baker said she hadn’t seen anything indicating the government would make the change. Locally some recognizable names include Superintendent of Education Mike Ash and Superintendent of Business Janet Baird-Jackson who made $150,576.08 each in 2011. Area secondary school principals took home between $121,000 and $118,000 in 2011. Central Huron Secondary School Principal Laurie Langstaff, F.E. Madill Secondary School Principal Martin Ritsma and Goderich District Collegiate Institute Principal George McEwan each took home $121,024.40 in 2011, while Listowel District Secondary School Principal Diane Homewood made the list at $118,923.12. Former Hullett Central Public School Principal and current System Principal of Elementary SchoolEffectiveness Joy Antoniuk made$117,136.99.Current Blyth Public School andfuture Maitland River Elementary School Principal Alice McDowell, former Brussels Public School Principal John Carr, Grey Central Public School Principal Jim Binns and former Blyth Public School Principal and current Exeter Public School Principal Jane Morton came in at $114,161.44 each, while Wingham Public School Principal Frank Stretton made $113,616.72, East Wawanosh Public School Principal Wendy Armstrong-Gibson made $113,078.72 and Hullett Central Public School Principal Shawn Allen made $109,797.14. Rounding out the local names on the list were several secondary school vice-principals, including F.E. Madill’s Janice Shore and Goderich District Collegiate Institute’s John Matthews who made $107,105.52 each, Listowel District’s Barry Brohman who made $106,238.94, and F.E. Madill’s Debbie Green who made $105,248.08. The list is available in the school board agenda section of yourschools.ca Looking for local heroes There are so many people out there who do so much to improve their community. Now you have a chance to say thanks. Nominate that special person for the 27th Annual Citizen Citizenship Awards. Each year a committee chooses an outstanding citizen from each of the Blyth and area and Brussels and area communities to receive an award for contribution to the community. If you know someone you think should be honoured, please fill in the ballot and send it in. You may attach a longer explanation of why you think your nominee should win, if you like. If you have nominated someone before and he or she didn't win, please feel free to try again. I nominate as Citizen of the year for I feel she/he deserves this award because Nomination Deadline April 30, 2012. Name and phone number of nominator ❑Blyth & area ❑Brussels & area Letters to the Editor THE EDITOR, Most newspapers in rural Ontario have commented on the Ontario budget and its implications to rural communities on a number of fronts. I recently read the budget overview on the Ontario Ministry of Finance’s website under the title: 2012 Ontario Budget: Chapter II: Ontario’s Economic Outlook and Fiscal Plan; Section F: Accountability, Transparency and Financial Management. I quote the following: “The government is accountable to the public for the appropriate use of taxpayer dollars and for clearly communicating the objectives and results of how those dollars are spent. It continues to make progress on further strengthening its accountability to the public” in respect to reporting, and effectively managing taxpayers’ money. “Ontario has been working to ensure measures ministries use in exercising agency oversight are effective and up to date. In 2010, Ontario updated and clarified its policy guiding agency establishment and accountability.” It’s my opinion, that is not always consistently delivered. The irony of the words on the finance ministry’s website ring hollow, considering what is being done, and how it’s being done, to communities by school boards across Ontario. The words, accountability, transparency, and sound financial management, hold little meaning, it seems, within the Ministry of Education, and its regional school bureaucracies. It also appears further school board amalgamation is in store, further isolating rural Ontario from the ‘deciders’. The Ministry of Education seems content to deny what’s afoot, and the school boards, so far, are secure knowing that they are above challenge – even by elected representatives of the people. The Education Act allows schools boards to initiate their school closure process without any avenue of appeal by taxpayers – even criminals have that right in our democracy. It’s enlightening that our government treats law-abiding taxpayers with less consideration than criminals. In my opinion, it’s time that our legislators recognize their responsibilities, initiate a moratorium on school closure as well as take corrective action to develop legislation directed at school boards that actually delivers on Accountability, Transparency and sound Financial Management. Sincerely, Greg Sarachman, Blyth. Program looks for volunteers THE EDITOR, Nature Canada is looking for people in your community to take part in an important -- but fun – program called PlantWatch. As a PlantWatch participant, you can enjoy the outdoors while helping us learn more about changes happening in our environment. Why be a PlantWatch volunteer? Plants, from the largest trees to the smallest flowers, provide people and wildlife with all kinds of benefits, from habitat to food to clean air and soil. By reporting on the PlantWatch species found in your community, you can help researchers discover how common plants are responding to changes in the environment — and track where changes are taking place in Canada. What does a PlantWatch volunteer do? Choose a local tree or plant species to monitor. At the sign of first bloom, write down the date and submit to researchers through the Internet or by mail. When you send your data electronically, it's added instantly to the national PlantWatch database describing bloom dates across Canada, so your observations make a difference right away! Choose your own location, even in your own backyard! You can watch as many species as you wish. It’s easy to incorporate PlantWatching into your regular routine. While the reporting instructions are scientifically rigorous, they’re quick and easy to follow, and cater to beginner and expert naturalists alike. You can contact the PlantWatch co-ordinator in your region to take part: Marlene Doyle, Marlene.Doyle@ec.gc.ca. You can also visit www.plantwatch.ca to learn more. As Canadians, we are remarkably fortunate to have abundant opportunities to connect with nature. For so many of us, some of our favourite childhood memories involve being outdoors – so I encourage you to join PlantWatch, get outside and have fun! Ian Davidson Executive Director, Nature Canada Writer wants accountability By Rita MarshallSpecial to The Citizen Got Married... Call for pricing & details 519-523-4792 or 519-887-9114 Share your news by placing your announcement in The Citizen