Quesnel School Trustees rescind hefty pay raise

School District 28 Quesnel’s Board of Trustees is rescinding a hefty pay raise in their most recent board meeting.

During a packed board meeting on Monday, October 6, with only one item on its agenda, trustees unanimously voted to rescind its Trustee Stipend renumeration increase of roughly $5,000 that it approved in September.

The reversal follows strong criticism from the Quesnel District Teachers’ Association (QDTA), the School District’s Support Staff CUPE 4990, as well as the public, on the Board of Trustees’ policy, procedure, and transparency.

“ We’re aware of the concerns raised regarding the trustee stipend increase that was approved on September 17th, 2025,” said Board Chair Julie–Anne Runge, in October’s meeting.

“Upon review, we recognize that this action did not follow our standard procedures and did not demonstrate the transparency we wish to model. We take full responsibility for this and have taken immediate steps to correct this oversight.”

The Trustees said the increase amounted to 29 per cent, while the QDTA argues that the number is closer to 35 per cent — raising the annual stipend from $14,231 to $19,231.

QDTA president, Dawn Rodgers, and a representative from CUPE 4990 both spoke against the Trustees’ decision, calling it a “serious lapse in [its] ability to govern and in [its] accountability to the public” as well as calling it “morally tone deaf”.

They pointed out that the Trustees were going against its policy it established earlier that no trustee raise would be considered until after the QDTA’s and CUPE’s collective agreements were settled. This, according to the CUPE’s representative, would have put “immense pressure” on the unions to bargain for numbers they were “nowhere near” able to reach.

Other concerns brought forward questioned the Trustee’s prioritizations, as the initial stipend was made when it would be directly taking funding and resources out of classrooms.

The Trustees’ response was that they “were unaware” of the policies, nor were the policies brought forward at September’s meeting when the stipend was approved. Board Vice-Chair Lisa Boudreau said the Trustees are all “only human and make mistakes”, and Runge said the board will be taking steps to ensure more transparency and policy governance.

“We are committed to ensuring that all decisions. Particularly those involving public funds are made thoughtfully, transparently, and in the best interest of our school community. We are reviewing our internal processes to ensure we remain consistent with these values. We remain focused on the critical work of supporting our students and staff.”

With the decision to rescind having been made, how the money will be allocated to the school district will be decided at a later time.

However, members of the QDTA present at Monday’s meeting said the actions by the Board of Trustees still raise questions of ethical governance going forward.

– Files from Teryn Midzain, My Cariboo Now staff