CALGARY—Contracts for some top bureaucrats at Alberta’s school boards include memberships at fitness clubs, allowances so spouses can attend school social events and even post-secondary tuition for an official’s children, according to two sources familiar with a provincial review of executives’ contracts.

Education Department staff have compiled all the superintendent contracts signed by boards around Alberta over the last five years as part of a review ordered by Education Minister David Eggen in the aftermath of a report that found Alberta school board salaries were higher than average compared to other provinces.

While those contracts remain confidential, two sources familiar with the review say Hay Group, the human resource consultancy hired to help with the review, uncovered unusual clauses in some deals inked by trustees, including wording that required one board to pay for a chief superintendent kids’ costs of attending university or college.

The provincial government has vowed to crack down on excessive pay and perks for chief superintendents with the province’s 76 public, separate, francophone and charter school authorities. But the review launched two months ago has stalled hiring of a top official at nine different boards, including the province’s largest.

Trustees with the Calgary Board of Education interviewed candidates to replace their resigning top executive David Stevenson in early April, but chair Trina Hurdman said the board is unable to negotiate a deal with his chosen successor until it knows what new rules regarding compensation may result from the review.

“We trust the province is moving as quickly as possible so we and other boards can continue with the recruitment process,” Hurdman said in an interview. “I understand why the minister decided to conduct the review, but I think boards should keep the final authority on how to compensate what is their one employee.”

Stevenson, who continues as the CBE’s top official on a rolling 30-day contract until a replacement is announced, was paid $389,865 in salary, allowances and benefits for the most recent fiscal year available, a figure second only to the $422,124 received by Joan Carr of Edmonton Catholic Schools.

A recent analysis conducted for the Alberta School Boards Association found that while average salaries in the province had declined, chief superintendents had seen their pay increase by more than 10 per cent in the same five-year period.

Compared to their counterparts in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Ontario, salaries for the top executives at Alberta boards were higher on average, the study found. The maximum salary for a chief superintendent was notably larger: nearly $90,000 above that of Ontario, more than $100,000 higher than Saskatchewan and $70,000 more than that of B.C.

“There are bound to be some inflammatory and concerning clauses in these contracts, because they were done behind closed doors when they should have been done in public,” Calgary parent Barb Silva said.

A spokesperson for the public education advocate Support Our Students, Silva said Alberta needs to follow Ontario’s lead and impose salary ranges that reflect a jurisdiction’s enrolment and diversity that boards can use to ensure they are properly compensating their top official.

“As is the case now with the CBE, you may have a new board who is not experienced at hiring what is essentially a chief executive,” she said. “It’s important for the province to set a guiding matrix.”

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While it’s unclear what restrictions on superintendent pay will result from the review expected to be released by Eggen in the coming weeks, a similar move last year saw significant cuts in salaries, perks and bonuses for CEOs at public agencies, boards and commissions.

Last month, the province introduced salary caps, eliminated bonuses, limited severance pay and prohibited perks such as sports memberships for presidents of post-secondary institutions under a plan that is expected to save $5 million a year once it is fully implemented

Barry Litun, executive director at the College of Alberta School Superintendents, said his members are concerned the review could mean school boards will lose the ability to recruit and retain high-quality executives.

“We don’t want to see a situation where a superintendent is producing strong results,” Litun said, “and trustees have their hands tied when it comes to compensating that person well enough so they will stay.”

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