Teachers’ association continues call for trustee resignations following trip to Italy

A teachers’ association is calling for more action after an expensive Italian trip. CTV’s Colton Wiens has more.

The Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic Teachers’ Association is continuing to call for the resignation of four trustees with the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board after a pricey trip to Italy.

Almost $190,000 was spent on the trip and managing the public fallout that ensued. The trustees said they took the trip to buy religious artwork for two new schools.

The Ministry of Education ordered a governance review of the board, including the circumstances surrounding the trip. The review, conducted by Aaron Shull, including 18 recommendations. The Minister of Education, Paul Calandra also issued four action items, including an order to repay the amounts owing for trustee travel expenses within 30 days.

“To be clear, I expect immediate action in Brant, and if I am not satisfied, I will take additional steps,” Calandra said during a news conference on Wednesday.

The teachers’ association said the trip and review has created a sense of distrust amongst teachers.

“The whole incident really eroded confidence in our system. It caused our board to operate under a black cloud. If in lieu of them resigning, what we’re going to do is, is we’re going to really follow closely to see if the recommendations are actually put in place,” Carlo Fortino, Unit President of the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic Teachers’ Association said.

Some of the recommendations from the report include strengthening and standardizing expense policies, discouraging expenditures with poor optics, conducting periodic external governance reviews and clarifying and respecting governance boundaries by providing ongoing training.

Fortino said the association is supportive of the recommendation that the trustees should undergo the training.

“We, earlier in the year, called for these trustees to resign. We still stand by that. And the reason why we do is because, it’s not necessarily just about the expenditures and how much money this did in terms of the trip and buying the art. You have to question the judgment of those who decided to partake in this,” Fortino said.

While the Minister has said he will make sure the board follows his orders, Fortino said if they get implemented, that will begin to restore teacher confidence.

“Hopefully we get back to a governance that is what is proper. We need that because at the end of the day this whole issue has really eroded confidence and trust. Especially my own teachers in terms of leadership and what this board stands for and represents,” Fortino said.

“We want the idea that students got to come first. If it’s not just the students, also the employees of the board - that’s where expenditures need to go,” Fortino added.