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The provincial government is launching a sweeping probe of the region’s largest school board, under fire after The Free Press uncovered a three-day retreat that sent 18 administrators to Toronto’s baseball stadium hotel – costing nearly $40,000.
In a forceful statement Friday evening, Education Minister Jill Dunlop announced a comprehensive review of the cash-strapped Thames Valley District school board’s executive operations in the wake of the Toronto travel scandal involving senior board leaders.
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“In light of recent revelations at the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) while they operate in a deficit, I am taking immediate action to conduct a management audit of the school board’s financial operations, as well as the executive members’ compensation and their administration of the board,” Dunlop said in an emailed statement.
Following a request from elected trustees earlier this week, Thames Valley revealed it spent $38,444.92 to send 18 senior administrators to a retreat at the hotel inside Rogers Centre, the home of the Toronto Blue Jays, in August. The three-day retreat coincided with home games by the Jays on each day. Rooms cost $374 to $1,199 a night, hotel staff say.
Thames Valley’s $7.6-million deficit for 2024-25 has been reduced by $11 million through job cuts, including 82 teaching positions, and cuts to school supplies. The board also reduced field trip funding for students by half to $500,000. Thames Valley’s annual budget is approximately $1.2 billion.
Revelations of the high-end retreat – uncovered three weeks ago by The Free Press – sparked outrage with parents, union leaders and the public.
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Thames Valley officials said Friday the decision on the out-of-town retreat rested with administration and not the board of trustees.
Dunlop said school boards must prioritize the provincial funding they receive to “help students and better equip teachers” and show “parents, teachers, and community members that they are responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars.”
“This is just common sense,” Dunlop said.
Dunlop said new accountability measures under Bill 98, the Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act, are in place and she expects “that TVDSB and all boards will use this as a learning lesson going forward.”
Trustee Beth Mai, chair of the school board, issued a statement on Saturday morning saying they’re “pleased” Queen’s Park “is willing to lend their support and conduct an audit of accounts.”
The board’s education director, Mark Fisher, began a paid leave of absence earlier this week with Bill Tucker, a former education director, temporarily appointed to lead Thames Valley.
The board said Friday that Tucker “has begun reviewing expenses to ensure compliance with policies, procedures.”
In June, The Free Press detailed large year-over-year increases in payments to top brass at the board, some as much as 30 per cent. Fisher’s total income, for example, rose to $326,000 from $283,000, according to public-sector salary records.
jbieman@postmedia.com
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