Controversial Blue Jays stadium trip for TVDSB leaders cost nearly $40K

Officials at the Thames Valley District School Board say a three-day Toronto planning retreat for 18 administrators cost nearly $40,000, a total that covers stays at an expensive hotel located inside the Rogers Centre baseball stadium. 

"That's more than one member's pay for an entire year," said Mary Henry, the president of CUPE Local 4222, which represents secretaries, custodians and early childhood educators. "I find it extremely excessive. That dollar amount could have been used on so many different levels to help the students."

The board released the $38,445 price tag late Thursday afternoon after weeks of pressure to make it public. The school board is facing a massive deficit and has made cuts that will affect students and teachers. 

A joint statement by board Chair Beth Mai and the school board's interim director Bill Tucker said the incident was a "learning experience" and will not happen again.

"I recognize that there's been a hit to public confidence in our board," Mai said in an interview with CBC News on Thursday evening. "We're committed to doing what's necessary to ensure that we have the public's confidence going forward."

[$38,445 is] more than one member's pay for an entire year,- Mary Henry, CUPE Local 4222 president

Thursday's cost disclosure is the latest development in the fallout over the trip, which sent 18 staffers to the retreat despite the board facing a $7.6 million budget deficit — while teachers faced shortages of classroom supplies. 

The retreat from Aug. 19 - 21 saw leadership travel to Toronto and stay in the Marriott City Centre Hotel located inside the Rogers Centre. The total also includes other trip expenses such as transportation, meeting spaces and food. 

The booking was made in February and the penalty to cancel the retreat would have been 90 per cent of those costs, school board officials said. 

Board officials have been under pressure to release the cost since late August and had not committed to doing so. On Thursday Mai said it was always the plan to release information about how much the trip cost, but the information, including how much individual staff members paid for transportation or spent on per diem, needed to be gathered first.

Mark Fisher, the board's director of education, took a leave of absence last week amid blowback over the trip. Mai refused comment on the reasons for Fishers's leave, citing privacy concerns. However, sources previously told CBC News his leave is directly related to the trip and its fallout.

Tucker was named as Fisher's interim replacement. 

In a post to social media site X, Mai referred to the Toronto trip as "Director Fisher's decision."

"He would be the one making the decision that the trip was happening and ultimately he would be giving the go ahead," she told CBC News.

Future trips will be 'closely monitored'

Mai said moving forward, Tucker will personally review all future expenses to ensure they comply with a policy passed in June that says all trips "must be reviewed to ensure cost effectiveness and alignment with TVDSB's strategic plan." 

The joint statement issued Thursday made a similar promise.

CBC News had requested a detailed cost breakdown of the trip since the London Free Press first reported about it on Aug. 27.

Mai issued a more detailed breakdown of the trip's cost in her social media post on Thursday afternoon:

• Total for travel: $5468.09.
• Total for accommodations: $19,778.02.
• Total for meeting rooms and meals: $13,198.81

Union 'frustrated and angry' 

Unions that represent school board workers such as teachers and support staff have been openly critical of the trip since it was first reported. 

When asked for her response to Henry's assessment of the trip's cost, Mai said it was an "accurate estimation, " that the trip spent in a few days what some board employees make in a year.

"That comment isn't lost on me. Ultimately what we're talking about is making sure that funds that need to be in classrooms are in classrooms," said Mai.

Henry told CBC News her union members are stretched thin and exhausted, with many holding multiple jobs to pay the bills. She would've rather seen the money go toward hiring full or part-time staff, or for use in the classroom, she said.

"CUPE members are really frustrated and angry, and very disappointed in this poor judgment."

Henry said, however, the board's decision to be transparent about the cost of the trip — which she believes is due to pushback from unions and parents — is an encouraging sign, especially after having worked with Tucker.

"I have full confidence in [Tucker] to get us back on track. I don't know how long he's going to be there, but I know that he is the best choice," Henry said.