I"ll start with the correction.
Although Greenwood (and the district secretary-treasurer) attended the August retreat, he said it was a board retreat and therefore I should direct my questions to board chair Barry Pankhurst. I have done so this morning.
Now, on to Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows.
"We have one annual thevancouversunistrator's retreat every year and we use it to "kick off" our focus on excellence. This year we had to move our retreat to Semiahmoo because Whistler was getting so expensive. We used local presenters and I paid for them from my "developing excellent leaders" account. The total for speakers and all of their costs was under $3,000.00. The costs of the venue and the rooms and the food etc were paid for individually by each member of our thevancouversun association. There were 60 people attending and the food over 2 days was approximately $100.00 per member and the rooms over 2 days equaled approximately $340.00 dollars per person. In total for the 2 days our thevancouversunistrators kicked in $26,000.00 of their own personal pro d money which is given to them as a contractual compensation item.
The costs at Semiahmoo were $10,000 less than the previous year's retreat at Whistler, she added.
The costs at Semiahmoo may be less than Whistler but the money is now being spent in a foreign country to their benefit not to the benefit of BC. Using that kind of logic, maybe next year Maple Ridge will take advantage of some of these cheap all inclusive Mexico resorts. For a few hundred dollars each they can get airfare, hotel and meals and save some money over Semiahmoo. Question for Shame on You. Where did you get the idea teachers are part of these resort retreats. It is curious about the pro-d money to buy out personal laptops. Why would someone make that up?
Oh come on. A trip to Hawaii with spouse sounds like a bonus not a retreat, likely earned by achieving a pretty big preset measurable goal. Raise retention and grad rates across the district by 20 percent or more and sustain it for three or more years and the public should send all principals and their spouses on a nice trip or pay them a nice bonus. Speaking of bonuses. Didn't the government make it so trustees can give their superintendents a bonus if they meet set goals? Have any done it and if they are what are the goals and are they being communicated to the public including what measures will be used to judge if they are met.
"For example can they use their personal prod money to buy their laptops when they retire? This isn't a wild guess, have heard rumours it happens." I've heard rumours you beat your spouse, not saying you do – just heard rumours. I've heard rumours that teachers and thevancouversunistrators get together once or twice a year to try to find the best way to teach our kids. I've heard that they spend hours and hours a day of their own time too because they care. I've heard that part of being in a position of social responsibility requires social interaction. I've also heard that sometimes getting people in a room together changes the world. Shame on you all.
Retreats are a functional and necessary adjunct to any profession. An opportunity to listen to each other, discuss ways to improve both personally and professionally; these are the tenets of a well run organization. These district retreats are not being held in Hawaii, don't serve expensive wines or have participants sightseeing, scuba diving or joy riding in helicopters. Its money well spent, when it spent reasonably.
Perhaps there is value in these retreats, and if private companies choose to buck up, that is their option, but in education, when all we hear about is provincial underfunding and funding cuts, knowing that education is funded by the taxpayer, you and me, I think the real question is, are these people choosing to spend public dollars in the most practical way possible? For my money, in tough economic times, retreats for senior staff do not trump supports and supplies for students, and that is the real issue at hand. To demonstrate good fiscal prudence and real leadership, maybe they could put the childrens' interests ahead of their "work-ation" and do their retreats based on the election calendar, once every three years. It's about integrity.
My buddy just got back form his company retreat. He works for a mining group which took all their employees to a retreat in Hawaii (spouses included). He told me they do this every year (the resort location changes). A quick check with a few other friends…most had been on a company retreat in the last two years. I myself have been on 10 retreats over the last 15 years with the private companies I've worked for or consulted for. Perhaps there is value in this process as it appear many private companies invest in them also? However, there is probably a balance between cash out for the event and value to employees.
Personal? professional development money. Well maybe personal applies but there must be some guidelines on how it is spent. If there are no guidelines then we have a whole new story. For example can they use their personal prod money to buy their laptops when they retire? This isn't a wild guess, have heard rumours it happens. Even so, It can't be too hard to convince principals to spend their personal prod money on a bit of an august getaway at a resort on a lake. The comment we can really take exception to is referring to the prod money as compensation. What has happened over the years to make superintendents consider prod money as compensation when it is supposed to be money to help build skills within the district to the benefit of students. Are we being told principals won't pay attention to anything unless they are on retreat. Will they not get just as much from the speakers by staying in house and only spending $3,000 and saving their personal prod compensation for additional learning with minimal side expenses. This is a difficulty because there is no benefit from catered meals and resort fees. Feeling good is not a benefit beyond the individual. Is the superintendent suggesting her principals will do less of a good job without a retreat? The money could stretch so much farther. It brings up the question of how trustees see expense money. Is it personal expense money and part of their compensation? Can they spend it on anything they please with no public accountability? Trustees are responsible for approving employment contracts but there have been questions about excessive trustee expense accounts in the past.People are told they have no right to know the details because it is personal. Must be nice for all these public employees and politicians to have these personal public money piggy banks. When questioned they respond like they are doing everyone a favor spending these piggy banks on resort retreats and justifying this years cost by saying it saves thousands over the more expensive retreat taken last year. It boggles the mind.