Ex supervisors must repay money
The subdistrict court in Assen has ordered the former supervisory board of a regional school community in Hoogeveen to repay a thousand to three thousand euros per person. The ex-supervisors had increased their own remuneration to almost three times in 2015.
Image: Rechtspraak.nl
That decision was not well-founded and not transparent, according to the verdict. The former supervisors had actually gone to court themselves because they believed they were still owed money from the foundation for public secondary education Hoogeveen (Stovoh).
The Supervisory Board should understand that this decision would lead to misunderstanding, both inside and outside the schools
'At a time when - from a social point of view - directors' salaries are under a magnifying glass, public funds are involved here and Stovoh is apparently heading for a budget deficit, the Supervisory Board should understand that this decision would lead to misunderstanding, both within and outside the organisation. outside the schools. Once again, it must be possible to properly explain what the increase is based on and why it is in the interest of the foundation, the schools and society. The Supervisory Board has not succeeded in this,' said the subdistrict court judge.
Weerstand
At the beginning of 2015, the supervisory board decided to increase its own remuneration by 275 percent. The annual fee of the chairman went from 4.500 euros to 12.375 euros and that of the members from 3.000 euros to 8.250 euros. This happened shortly after the Top Income Standards Act allowed a higher maximum for supervisors.
The actions of the supervisory board raised a lot of resistance. The director-manager made a moral appeal to review the decision and first ask the joint participation council (gmr) for advice. Despite repeated requests from the regulators, the GMR did not receive the information requested by the Board and eventually gave up its confidence.
Not so big
“We are not so large that the compensation is or was justified”, says director-director Dries Koster of the Hoogeveen public secondary education foundation (Stovoh) against RTV Drenthe.
As tensions over compensation increased, regulators went for reappointment. It never happened. The Supervisory Board resigned in November 2015. The appointment term had already expired for almost two months. The increase was later reversed.
