Catholic School Trustee Spending Under Fire
Posted May 7, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Rampant overspending by Toronto District Catholic School Board (TDCSB) trustees has outraged taxpayers.
Trustees are essentially unpaid. Each receives an honorarium of $18,000 per session, as a sort of thank you for overseeing the schools and students within the board.
But it seems they’re earning far more than their cut. A recent report has the TDCSB scrambling to explain how, on average, each trustee receives $107,000 for car allowances, meals, travel and charity donations.
That comes at a time when the board is struggling with a $14 million shortfall, including the inability to pay for all-day kindergarten and other programs.
“It’s inappropriate. They keep taking more taxes from us and we keep making less and this is just not appropriate spending,” argues Diane Dixon, an IT analyst.
Kala Jenkins, a recruiter, agrees. “It’s ridiculous. I’m shocked. “
The money’s a lot more than what their counterparts across Ontario get.
In the Toronto District School Board, trustees expense $67,000 on average; and Dufferin Peel Catholic School trustees charge $27,000 to the board.
The government paper, entitled “Enhancing Public Trust and Confidence,” outlined approximately 20 areas for revision – changes the Ministry wants to see implemented by the end of June.
Education Minister Kathleen Wynne called for tougher spending rules for all school trustees, saying the province has “no patience” for the abuse of taxpayer dollars.
“I have no tolerance and the government has no tolerance for public dollars being used in inappropriate ways,” she fumed.
“Since 2003, our policies have been revised several times. Based on the report … it appears that there are inconsistencies in how the policies are interpreted,” said Catherine LeBlanc-Miller, Chair of the TDCSB. She had asked the province to look into spending in the first place.
The investigation, commissioned by the province, found the Toronto Catholic board spends more money on itself than any other in Ontario.
“All the money should go to the schools,” says Jason Kim, who works in customer service. “They should be buying computers and stuff for the students.”
But how did they rack up such huge bills?
Your money is being used to buy cell phones, BlackBerrys and digital cameras. They’re used for work – but trustees can keep the goods after they leave office.
Trustees are also spending your cash on multiple, daily or weekly meals and out of town hospitality stays, as well as mini-bars.
It’s “bad judgment,” LeBlanc-Miller readily admits, and a problem they’re working to fix. She promises, “Our goal is to address this.”
