Burnaby secretary-treasurer Greg Frank wouldn’t say he had dodged a bullet by accepting a job offer from the Surrey school board this week over a similar offer from Vancouver earlier this year.
He avoided all comparisons between the Vancouver district, which faces school closures and layoffs because of an anticipated $27-million shortfall next year, and the Surrey district, whose current secretary-treasurer has called his district’s projected $4-million shortfall “insignificant.”
“I am happy I have made the right decisions in total in terms of Burnaby and Surrey,” Frank told the NOW.
After 16 years in the district, Frank announced this week he is leaving Burnaby to take up the secretary-treasurer post just south of the Fraser.
It’s the second such announcement Frank has made this school year.
In September, he said he had accepted an offer from Vancouver but reversed that decision at the end of October.
Frank’s wage in Burnaby had been “below par” for years, according to school board chair Ron Burton, but a provincial freeze on salaries for exempt staff like assistant-superintendents and secretary-treasurers has prevented the district from offering him more money to stay.
The board decided not to give Frank a raise about seven years ago, Burton said, thinking it would be able to reconsider an increase the following year, but then the province imposed the freeze.
But the move to Surrey isn’t all about money, according to Frank.
“There’s increased money that goes with it,” he said, “but it’s the whole professional opportunity. The idea of being a senior leader in the largest school district in the province, that has a lot of challenges and opportunities, and I’m ready for those types of challenges.”
The Burnaby board will meet Monday to decide on a plan for finding Frank’s replacement before July 31, according to Burton.
“It’s going to be very quick for us,” he said, “but I’m sure we can accomplish what we want to accomplish. Greg’s left us in very good condition. … There’s been a few searches already for secretary-treasurers in other districts so there’s people who are floating out there that will apply.”
