Ontario school boards continue paying six-figure salaries after directors depart
Episode Stats
Words per minute
142.7936
Summary
Ontario school boards are paying top salaries even after executives leave their jobs. The new Sunshine List data shows former directors of education still earning thousands of dollars after stepping away from their roles. At the Waterloo Region District School Board, former director Jiwon Chanaka, who uses all lowercase letters to spell his name, was paid $277,000 according to the data released recently. He retained his pay after his departure in late 2024 when he left the role without explanation.
Transcript
00:00:00.000
Ontario school boards are paying top salaries even after executives leave their jobs.
00:00:06.840
The new sunshine list data shows former directors of education still earning thousands of dollars
00:00:14.660
At the Waterloo Region District School Board, former director Jiwon Chanaka, who uses all
00:00:19.960
lowercase letters to spell his name, was paid $277,000 according to the 2025 sunshine list
00:00:28.000
data released recently. He retained his pay following his departure in late 2024 when he
00:00:34.880
left the role without explanation just after three years. At the Thames Valley District School Board,
00:00:41.200
former director Mark Fisher had been on leave since September before resigning months later.
00:00:47.040
He also received $283,000. Fisher's leave followed scrutiny over spending including a $40,000
00:00:55.680
retreat for senior staff which resulted in the board being placed under provincial supervision.
00:01:00.880
The Waterloo board has not been placed under provincial supervision. While Juno News did
00:01:06.560
reach out to the boards to ask why their former directors were still being paid the salary,
00:01:11.120
despite their departures, both boards declined to respond. Public school boards are struggling
00:01:16.720
financially which resulted in several being placed under provincial supervision, yet senior
00:01:22.480
officials continue receiving top-tier pay even after stepping away. If you want to read more,