Union backs Queen’s Park audit of Thames Valley school board after retreat scandal

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The provincial audit of region’s largest school board in the wake of an executive travel controversy is a welcomed step that can help restore public faith in a critically important institution, one union leader says.

Ontario’s education minister announced a sweeping audit of the Thames Valley District school board executive operations after a three-day retreat by 18 senior staff at the Toronto Blue Jays’ stadium hotel, totaling nearly $40,000, sparked public backlash after being uncovered by The Free Press.

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“We are pleased that the ministry is looking at this, not because we want to point the finger, but because there are some profound changes that need to be made,” said Craig Smith, president of the Thames Valley local of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario.

“Every dollar that comes in to the school board is a public dollar. It is incumbent on both the board and the ministry to ensure that everything is in order.”

Smith, whose union represents more than 3,800 elementary school teachers in Thames Valley, said the out-of-town professional development trip by board brass should never have happened in the first place and hopes the ministry audit and actions by the board will ensure similar missteps don’t happen again.

“With public education, it’s important that the public has faith in that institution, not just the work we as teachers do with students, but that the system is running smoothly and that every dollar that’s put in is going where it needs to go,” he said Sunday.

Ontario’s Education Minister, Jill Dunlop, announced in a statement Friday evening that the province is conducting a management audit of Thames Valley’s finances, executive compensation and the administration of the board.

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The timeline for the province’s audit, or details on whether the findings of the review will be publicly released, were not disclosed.

In a text exchange Sunday, school board trustee Beth Mai, the chair of Thames Valley, was supportive of the audit by the provincial government and said “both parties should investigate the finances and and review any and all costs” to protect public trust and promote accountability.

Revelations of the three-day retreat – uncovered three weeks ago by The Free Press – sparked backlash from parents, union leaders and the public.

Following demands from elected trustees, board officials revealed last week it spent $38,444.92 to send 18 senior administrators to an August retreat at the hotel inside Rogers Centre, the home of the Toronto Blue Jays. Rooms cost $374 to $1,199 a night, hotel staff say.

The retreat comes as Thames Valley operates at a $7.6-million deficit in 2024-25. The deficit was reduced by $11 million through cuts to jobs and school supplies. The board, which has an annual budget of approximately $1.2 billion, also reduced field trip funding for students by half to $500,000.

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Thames Valley’s education director since 2019, Mark Fisher, began a paid leave of absence last week. Former Thames Valley education director Bill Tucker was brought in as the board’s interim boss.

Thames Valley is not the first publicly funded institution in London to attract controversy over travel expenses in the last year.

London police, which sought a record-breaking budget increase this year, sent members of its emergency response unit to participate in an international competition in Dubai in February, a trip that cost $15,700 and drew public criticism due to the participation of Russian and Belarusian competitors.

The London police travel controversy prompted the department to adopt increased vetting and approval processes for out-of-town trips.

Last fall, the London Health Sciences Centre, working to close a $150-million deficit this year, sent 16 senior staff and executives to an international hospital conference in Portugal and six executives to the United Arab Emirates.

A third trip, which 11 senior LHSC staff were scheduled to take to Australia, was cancelled at the last minute. The hospital’s president at the time took a medical leave in the wake of the controversy, ultimately leaving the post permanently in June.

jbieman@postmedia.com

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