Tag: Mark Fisher
As school board deficit spikes anew, Queen’s Park offers update on looming audit
Queen’s Park is still finalizing the framework of a planned probe into the operations and finances of Southwestern Ontario’s largest school board, an education ministry official says.
Thames Valley school board deficit spikes again â even after deep cuts
The budget deficit Thames Valley District school board trustees have spent months trying to wrangle has shot back up, more than doubling to $16.5 million, leaving officials facing more tough spending decisions.
Thames Valley school board spent $225K on Navigator PR firm. Why?
The embattled London-area public school board spent more than $225,000 on advice from damage-control consulting firm Navigator in 2021 and 2022, documents obtained by The Free Press show â but officials won’t say why.
Thames Valley works to grade top official â with few details on his ongoing leave
As the Thames Valley District school board develops a Queen’s Park-mandated policy for evaluating its education director, the last top boss remains off work but collecting his paycheque after almost three months.
Education minister scolds school boards for ‘extravagant expenses’
The heads of Ontarioâs 72 school boards were read the riot act about “inappropriateâ spending on expensive trips, provincial officials say
More cuts loom as Thames Valley board faces $6.4M budget hit
More cuts loom at the Thames Valley District school board as it faces a $6.4-million budget hit on top of its $7.6-million deficit
School board travel scandals: Critic blasts ‘never-ending’ spending woes
A raft of out-of-town â even overseas â trips by school board trustees or officials across Southwestern Ontario have rattled taxpayers and sparked deep reviews by Ontario’s education ministry. Two more cases became public in the past two days, and one long-time critic of the provincial education system believes it’s time for drastic changes. “I […]
School board boss clamps down on executives’ spending after $38K retreat scandal
The regionâs largest school board has introduced a new screening process for staff seeking professional development activities in the wake of a Toronto travel scandal that led to a large-scale provincial audit. The Thames Valley District school board came under fire in late August when The Free Press uncovered a three-day retreat by 18 administrators at […]
What’s driving spike in ‘anti-social’ conduct in London-area classrooms?
Disturbing behaviour by students in London-area school classrooms are at all-time high, according to Thames Valley District school boardâs top official. Bill Tucker, the London-based board’s interim education director, spoke bluntly to trustees this week about what’s happening with students â including a child in his own family â as young people struggle to overcome […]
Ex-principals join top ranks amid Thames Valley school board upheaval
Three former principals are joining the top ranks of the troubled Thames Valley District school board after two senior officials took leaves of absence and another exited following a travel scandal that sparked a provincial audit. The three-day August retreat by 18 senior staff members of the cash-strapped school board, Ontario’s fourth-biggest, included first-class train […]