Conflicts keep 7 of 9 trustees from voting on $329M Catholic board budget

Only two of the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board's nine trustees were able to vote on the board's $329-million operating budget because the remaining seven trustees had to declare a conflict of interest.

Both supported it.

Seven of the nine trustees have a direct family member working as a teacher or staff member at one of the schools, which obliges them to declare a conflict of interest and prevents them voting on or debating the budget and many other financial matters.

Other major decisions, including on collective bargaining issues, have had similar stifled votes at the Catholic board, forcing it to rely on just chairperson Pat Daly and Ward 6 trustee Joseph Baiardo for key votes.

"I can see the concern there of the nine trustees," Baiardo said, treading carefully. "All the trustees have to avoid the perception of influence."

"It is what it is," Daly said of the conflicts.  "All of those people still contribute a lot throughout the year."

'What's left?'

McMaster University political science associate professor Peter Graefe said it is "not surprising" trustees would have a vested interest in schools.

But if they can't vote or ask questions on the "fundamental" issues such as budgets and collective bargaining, Graefe asked, "What's left?"

Daly and Baiardo both said the remaining trustees can help with the "building blocks" of the budget, essentially working on compartmental issues they have no direct conflict with.

Daly said those issues can range from curriculum, to technology, as well as capital projects.

Graefe said it raises questions about why they ran, but also questions of whether the board is applying conflict of interest laws "in an overly stringent manner."

Either way, Tuesday's $329-million budget passed with votes from Daly and Baiardo. It included $1.5 million in technology for laptops and tablets, iPads and interactive projectors. It also included nearly $1-million in new textbooks for all different curriculums, and funding for five "math coaches," a recommendations from the board's Math Task Force.

"If anything, I must have asked about 20 questions that night," Baiardo said of the Tuesday night decision. "And the floor was essentially all mine. I think I covered the most important parts of (the budget) and asked the appropriate questions… Seeing that its a very positive budget for our board."

Enrolment in the Catholic system has been on a downward trend for the past several years according to the budget, with 10,432 students enrolled in 2010/11, compared to 9,773 to start the 2014 school year. That trend is projected to reverse in the next three years according to the budget.