The Ontario government says it will conduct a governance review of a Catholic school board that used $145,000 in public funds to send trustees on a trip to Italy to buy religious statues and sculptures for a new high school that is being built.
Education Minister Jill Dunlop said on Thursday evening that the province will send an investigator to review the procedures at the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board in Brantford.
Four of the board’s six trustees reportedly expensed $45,000 for their July trip to northern Italy, where they purchased about $100,000 worth of artwork, including life-sized wooden statues of St. Padre Pio and the Virgin Mary.
Earlier on Thursday, after criticism the day before from Ms. Dunlop for “a serious lack of fiscal responsibility,” board chair Rick Petrella said he and the other trustees who took the trip will repay the $45,000 in incurred expenses, as well as explore non-board funding options to help offset the costs of the artwork.
“While I acknowledge that the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board is taking steps to fix their error in judgment, I remain concerned that accountability was only taken after my ministry and the public expressed clear concerns for the misuse of taxpayer dollars,” Ms. Dunlop said in Thursday’s statement.
In an e-mail, Mr. Petrella said that the trip was “undertaken in good faith to promote our Catholic identity.” But “the optics and actions of this trip were not favourable“ and it “was not the best course of action,” the board recognized.
“We deeply regret the events that have taken place, and I want to personally assure everyone that such incidents will not occur again.”
He had justified the trip in a recent interview with the Brantford Expositor, saying that the board looked to buy artwork “off the shelf” but that “nothing stood out.”
Most of the artwork was intended to be housed at St. Padre Pio Catholic Secondary School, a new Brantford high school that will open in September, 2026.
This is the second time this fall that the province has had to review the procedures and expenses of school boards.
Last month, Ms. Dunlop ordered a “management audit” of the financial operations of the Thames Valley District School Board in London after revelations that senior staff spent nearly $40,000 on a three-day planning retreat, including a hotel stay inside the Rogers Centre baseball stadium. The Blue Jays were playing at home during their stay at Toronto Marriott City Centre Hotel.
In Brantford, the school board has not provided a breakdown of costs associated with the Italy trip and each piece of artwork despite repeated requests from The Globe and Mail.
A month before the July trip, trustees approved changes to its expenses policy. The changes included allowing trustees to fly business class “or higher” if travelling outside North America and the trip is more than six hours, with approval of the board chair. Previously, flight upgrades would have been considered a personal expense and not reimbursed.
Mr. Petrella has not responded to questions about whether he and other trustees flew business class.
In his statement Thursday, he said the board would review its expense policies “at the earliest opportunity.”
The school board has a budget surplus. Mr. Petrella said he has heard concerns from parents, students and staff about the need to invest in the education system. He said the board would allocate more funds to breakfast programs, training and staffing.