Winnipeg school divisions chop management jobs to follow government order

Two Winnipeg school divisions have announced they've slashed labour costs in upper management by the 15 per cent ordered by the provincial government. 

The Winnipeg School Division eliminated a manager position in the buildings department, a director of education and a superintendent of education, while the Louis Riel School Division cut one assistant superintendent position and the project manager role.

The province ordered the cost-cutting in January at every school division to address what it considers a top-heavy public sector.

Breaking the news of who would lose their jobs was "one of the most challenging and agonizing announcements I've had to make," Louis Riel superintendent Christian Michalik wrote in a letter recently published on the division's website.

Assistant superintendent Irene Nordheim — who has worked in education for four decades — and project manager Amarbeer Bhandari were affected by the province's order.

"While we continue to discuss how to redistribute their substantial responsibilities amongst our reduced senior leadership team, the impact of this reduction extends beyond our organizational chart as there is a significant human cost as well.

"The elimination of these roles means two professionals who are thoroughly committed to seeing our learners thrive, and communities flourish can no longer do the jobs they love," Michalik wrote.

WSD said it already trimmed the size of its executive workforce in 2015.

"Reducing management staff to achieve the province's objective presents us with many challenges, but our focus and priority is to provide excellent education and opportunities for the young people who rely on our schools and educators to help them create their own futures," board chair Chris Broughton said in a news release Monday.

The savings will be reallocated to student programs, including a work placement program preparing students to enter the workforce, WSD said.

Cap on salaries, review ordered

In January, the province also directed school divisions to control executive salaries by imposing a 1.75 per cent cap on wage increases over four years and hiring outside consultants to review the compensation structure.

Education Minister Kelvin Goertzen said at the time that any savings would be redirected into education.

"Clearly we are asking school divisions to live within the means of taxpayers and live within the means of the ability for Manitobans to pay," Goertzen said.

NDP education critic Nello Altomare said in a news release Monday the government is going ahead with "arbitrary cuts" in a pandemic "without any consultation and with numerous questions about the return to school unresolved."