Brantford-area Catholic school trustees loosened spending rules weeks before $145K trip to Italy

Trustees with a Brantford-area Catholic school board have tightened up spending rules after changing them just weeks before a $145,000 trip to Italy.

Rick Petrella, chair of the Brantford Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board (BHNCDSB), and three other trustees — Dan Dignard, Bill Chopp and Mark Watson — went to South Tyrol in Italy in July, where they bought $100,000 worth of custom art for two new high schools. 

Their travel expenses totalled $45,000, the specifics of which have not been released.

At a June 7 board meeting, trustees changed their expense policy to allow for business class flights and upgraded hotel rooms, as well as, in some cases, valet parking and alcohol, according to the report. They also removed caps on how much they'd be reimbursed for meals.

The trustees also tweaked the policy so they could claim expenses without receipts, and allow the chair to approve expenses rather than the board's treasurer. 

Neither Petrella nor the board responded to CBC Hamilton's questions about why the expense policy was changed in June, what exactly the $45,000 was spent on and why the chair and three other trustees were required to go on the trip.

In a statement last week, after facing backlash from the public and a probe from the Ministry of Education, Petrella said "such incidents" will not happen again. 

"We wish to reiterate to everyone that this [trip] was undertaken in good faith, with good intentions, and for the promotion of our Catholicity, but mistakes were made," he said. 

'I was furious,' student says

On Monday, the board of trustees walked back the changes, approving a stricter expense policy that's in line with provincial rules, the report said. 

For example, international travel must be first approved by the Minister of Education, trustees will only be reimbursed for economy class seats on flights and alcohol cannot be claimed under any circumstances. 

Petrulla and the other trustees will be repaying the board for travel costs, he said. The board is also looking for donors to cover the costs of the art. 

"We hope these initial concrete steps will set us on the path to restoring your trust and confidence in us," Petrella said.

Grade 11 student Mya Green, who attends a BHNCDSB school and is from Bloodvein River First Nation in Manitoba, said the entire ordeal has left her "really disappointed." 

"I was furious because [my] school needs so many new resources and better accommodations," Green said. 

She has ideas for where the $145,000 would be better spent — to subsidize the cost of healthier cafeteria food, for example, or to offer more programs for Indigenous students, like herself.

Her mom Ashling Green said the trustee trip to Italy felt like an "abuse of power," especially when "times are extremely hard" for parents facing higher costs of living. 

Ashling said she is also frustrated the board has a budget surplus of more than $33 million when there doesn't appear to be enough mental health and educational support for students and the schools her children attend don't have air conditioning. 

The board did not respond to a request for comment on where else the trip money could've been spent.

In response to the trip, the province is conducting a governance review of the BHNCDSB. 

Education Minister Jill Dunlop said she's concerned the trustees only acted after the province and public took notice. 

The province is also investigating a public school board in London, Ont., after officials spent nearly $40,000 on a three-day retreat in Toronto in August.