Ontario school board under fire for $40K Blue Jays stadium retreat

The Thames Valley District School Board has released the expenses for its off-site retreat trip to Toronto after calls for more transparency.

In a statement, the board’s chair and interim director said that to maintain “transparency and accountability,” they would release the cost of the off-site planning meeting in Toronto, totalling $38,444.92.

This includes transportation, the Blue Jays stadium hotel, meeting spaces and food expenses.

“This has been a learning experience for the TVDSB and will not happen again,” the statement reads.

This announcement comes just days after the director of education, Mark Fisher, went on a leave of absence.

When asked if the leave of absence was connected to the controversy around the trip, board chair Beth Mai said, “We aren’t able to share further details about his leave of absence due to privacy reasons and whether or not there’s any connection.”

While the board would not say the reason for his leave, it came at a time when they were receiving criticism over the trip.

The board confirmed that Fisher was put on paid leave, and former Thames Valley District School Board director of education Bill Tucker was appointed interim director of education.

CUPE Local 4222, which represents early childhood workers in London, had been pushing for the board to disclose the total cost of the retreat publicly.

“It is a lot of money. It’s actually more than what one of our members would make in an entire year,” union president Mary Henry said.

Henry criticized the spending, especially with the board dealing with a $7.6-million deficit for the 2024-25 budget.

“We’ve been in a staffing crisis on all levels of the board for quite a few years. Everybody is stretched thin. The resources that are usually provided to the students have been clawed back a little bit by a little bit,” she said.

The board’s statement said after reviewing the details of the expenses, the hotel and meeting spaces were booked in February, and the penalty for cancelling the booking was 90 per cent of those costs.

“I understand it was arranged in February, but when you’re supposed to be responsible for the finances and monitoring to project for the future, you know, what we did good versus what we should do better or tighten up and stuff should have been considered,” Henry said. “I believe that there was some poor judgment on those decisions, which affects everybody in the end, and unfortunately, the students are the ones that suffer, and that’s unacceptable.”

In its statement, the board said that “Tucker will be closely monitoring all expenses moving forward to ensure compliance with policies, procedures, and the Board Motion passed in June that read, ‘That all professional development opportunities, travel, and catered events must be reviewed to ensure cost-effectiveness and alignment with TVDSB’s strategic plan. Expenses must be saved where possible by considering location, transportation, and catering efficiencies as required.’”

The board reports that it is reviewing and making changes to expense policies and procedures through the appropriate process to align with the motion passed by the board.