CBE trustees 'on track' to meet November deadline to improve governance and financial management

Education Minister Adriana LaGrange's office said it's pleased to see the Calgary Board of Education is taking the necessary steps to "address systemic issues facing the board."

Back in May, LaGrange threatened to fire CBE trustees despite an independent audit finding no evidence of reckless spending. 

The audit was ordered after the CBE struggled to absorb a $32-million shortfall brought on by provincial budget cuts and announced it was going to have to eliminate more than 300 teaching jobs. 

At the time, LaGrange accused the CBE of a "reckless misuse of taxpayer dollars," saying an organization the size of the CBE should be able to find efficiencies without affecting teachers.

In an emailed statement to CBC News on Wednesday, Alberta Education said it had been in regular contact with the CBE since the Grant Thorton report was released.

"We are pleased to see the CBE is taking steps to address the systemic issues facing their board," reads the statement from ministry spokesperson Colin Aitchison.  

"Progress continues to be made toward the completion of all directives within the ministerial order."

The order outlined 19 directives for improvement in relation to the CBE's governance and financial oversight.

Trustees were given a Nov. 30 deadline to get their "house in order" or be fired.

"As stewards of taxpayer funding, the CBE owes it to Calgarians and Albertans to ensure they improve their governance and financial management practices," said Aitchison.

"The minister's direction to the board was to do more to consider long-term operations and to focus on long-term strategies to ensure sustainability into the future. This type of long-term thinking is more important than ever as we operate in a pandemic environment."

In an emailed statement, the CBE said it's committed to working with the government to ensure compliance by the deadline. 

"Since May, the board of trustees and administration have built a solid plan to address each directive," reads the statement. "We have shared this plan with the government and are reporting progress to them monthly. We are pleased to report that we are on track to complete all the directives on time."

Despite being encouraged by Alberta Education to ask the CBE to share the plan, CBC News was not provided a copy by the board. 

"At this point in time, the plan and progress reports are not public documents; they have only been shared with Alberta Education staff and the minister's office," said an emailed statement from board chair Marilyn Dennis.