Ontario to audit school boards after expensive trips to Hawaii, Italy

Ontario's Minister of Education has announced she will audit discretionary spending of all school boards in the province after reports of expensive trips by board officials in recent months.

Jill Dunlop told reporters this week that she has been ordered by Ontario Premier Doug Ford to conduct the audits, which will will start immediately.

School board officials have, according to news reports, spent thousands of dollars on trips to Hawaii, Italy, Toronto and St. Catharines.

"Honestly, this is appalling and I'm hearing from taxpayers," Dunlop said on Thursday. "This is money that is supposed to be spent in the school on teachers and student supports."

In January, the Lambton Kent District School Board in southwestern Ontario spent more than $32,000 to send three staff members to an education conference in Honolulu, Hawaii, as reported by CBC London.

In July, three trustees and the board chair from the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board in Brantford, Ont., went on $50,000 trip to South Tyrol in Italy to buy $100,000 worth of art for two schools, CBC Hamilton reported.

And in August, 18 senior administrators from the Thames Valley District School Board in London, Ont., spent more than $38,000 on a retreat to Toronto, as first reported by the London Free Press.

Also according to the London Free Press, 26 senior staff members at the London Catholic District School Board went on a $16,000 two-day trip to St. Catharines in August.

The school board trustees from the Brantford Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board have agreed to pay back the $50,000 they spent during the Italy art-buying trip, which included deluxe hotel rooms, a limo ride and $1,600-gourmet dinner.

Dunlop said the ministry will discuss the issue with board representatives.

"My plan is to meet with the directors of education and to discuss this with them, to let them know this is happening, and to also give them a heads up that maybe it's a time to come forward and let us know about some of the appalling events that have been going on."

In the case of the Hawaii trip, Dunlop said there was an option to attend the conference online.

"I think that is something that taxpayers are very concerned about, that money was spent to travel to Hawaii on something that could have been done right in their home area," Dunlop said.

At an unrelated news conference last month, Ford said the trips are "unacceptable."

"The cheese slipped off the cracker with these guys," Ford said. 

"I just don't get it. Common sense. The stories go on and on and on. That's why I directed our Minister of Education to start doing audits on these school boards. They are the first to scream they need more money," he added.

"We're pouring money into school boards and they're out partying and acting like a bunch of yahoos. Unacceptable. You're elected. You have to respect the taxpayers' money."

Boards committed to being transparent, association says

Kathleen Woodcock, president of the Ontario Public School Boards' Association, said in a statement on Thursday that school boards haven't received details of the potential audits and how the process will unfold.

"School board trustees across Ontario take their roles very seriously, particularly their commitment to being financially responsible, transparent, and accountable to the communities and students they serve," Woodcock said.

"We fully support the Minister's focus on putting resources where they matter most: to benefit students directly. We welcome this opportunity to continue working with the province to advance our shared goals of transparency, accountability, and the best possible outcomes for students across Ontario."

Chandra Pasma, NDP education critic, said the spending was clearly out of line but she questions what is actually going to happen.

"With the audit, the government didn't announce any details. They have a habit of policy by press release, and then sometimes they don't even follow through. It's not clear to us what this audit would look like, so we will continue to keep an eye on it and push the government to make sure this is an appropriate response to the situation" Pasma said.