The head of a home-schooling society abruptly shut down by the province earned almost $300,000 in pay and perks annually.

On Oct. 25, 2016 Alberta Education suddenly closed Trinity Christian School Association and its affiliate, Wisdom Home Schooling Society, after an audit turned up questionable spending and conflicts of interest.

One area highlighted was compensation and administrative costs. The financial review found Trinity and Wisdom spent 32 per cent of their expenses on office and administration, while public boards spend 3.4 to 5.6 per cent on average.

Between the school and home-schooling society, members of two extended families were paid $2.8 million over three years, between 2012 and 2015.

Wildrose finance critic Derek Fildebrandt says the salaries are concerning.

"We're going to watch it closely and take it very seriously," Fildebrandt said Tuesday. "At the same time we still continue to have strong concerns about the sudden shutdown, the way it was done. The way this left students out in the cold."

Trinity received more than $5.6 million in Alberta Education funding for the current school year. In 2014-15, Wisdom spent more than 90 per cent of that money even though the province said it had "no relationship" with Alberta Education.

Back to school

On Nov.1, Wisdom and Trinity took the province to court and won a temporary injunction to reopen the schools. Court of Queen's Bench Justice E.J. Simpson said his decision protects both students and taxpayers, pending the outcome of a hearing set for Jan. 5.

Among the documents filed with the court is a breakdown of $2.8 million in salaries.

Ken Noster is board chair and director of Wisdom Home Schooling Society and associate principal at Trinity. Over three years, Noster received $863,882. His wife, Marlane Noster, and some of their children and their spouses were also on the payroll, bringing in another $1 million over the same period.

Fildebrandt says paying the board chair nearly $300,000 per year raises concern.

"We want to make sure taxpayers' money is being spent properly but ensuring that we're not overreacting," he said.

Trinity principal Richard Schienbein earned an average of $104,000 annually between 2012 and 2015. The school had 13 students when it was shut down by the government. Schienbein's wife, Margaret Schienbein and their children were also on the payroll. In all, the Schienbeins took home $1.06 million over three years.

Lawyer Jay Cameron represents Trinity and Wisdom.

"My understanding is Alberta Education is not challenging the size of the salaries," Cameron told CBC.

"I can tell you Ken Noster's salary is very comparable to the mid- to small-range school divisions," he said. "The quality of the program has been top notch."

Cameron said Wisdom and Trinity are focused now on the court hearing in January, where they will work to have the schools' accreditation and funding reinstated.

"There is a lot of documentation to show that Alberta Education was very aware and had agreed and had permitted and had approved of the way this school was functioning," he said.

No one from Alberta Education would comment as the matter is before the courts.