Ontario’s education minister has instructed the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) chair to return more than $6,700-worth of “office and personal electronic devices” that were purchased using board funds. In a letter penned to Markus de Domenico on Monday, obtained by CTV News Toronto, Paul Calandra writes to the chair that he had recently become aware of the items he purchased during Domenico’s tenure as trustee. “As I’m sure we agree, Board resources are most effective when they support students in classrooms,” the education minister writes. “Given your repeated public statements that you have no office and that, since the supervisor’s appointment, your role as trustee is limited solely to denominational issues, please arrange to return the following items purchased with taxpayers’ dollars, totaling $6,704.04.” There are at least 61 items de Domenico purchased that Calandra flagged, separated into the following categories: headphones and audio, hard drives, phone accessories, laptop sleeves and bags, chargers, cameras and accessories, projectors and screens and TV wall mounts, office equipment and iPad and Apple accessories. Some of the pricier items include an 11-inch iPad Air ($924.34), an IKEA desk ($398.89), Apple AirPods Pro with charging case ($371.77), a MacBook Pro leather sleeve ($281.37), a 4K projector ($402.27) and a 100-inch 4K fixed frame projector screen ($316.34). Also among the list of items include two prepaid Europe SIM cards ($66.04), an Apple Watch band ($145.77), a lower back padded seat cushion ($79.07) and a ring light with tripod stand ($30.39). De Domenico is asked to return each item in working order, including accessories and chargers, and to scrub all passwords from the devices. “Given that several additional purchases were submitted without itemized receipts or with the itemized details curiously removed, please also include any additional devices or accessories that, on reflection, are board property,” Calandra writes. Calandra also notes de Domenico bought at least 30 cell phone screen protectors, asking he return all unused ones with each item to be delivered to the TCDSB Centre located on Sheppard Avenue East. “If any item is no longer in your possession, provide the date, disposition, and the authorization under which that occurred, along with receipts,” the letter reads. The Toronto Catholic District School Board is one of the boards under government supervision due to what Calandra previously called “years of financial mismanagement" by its trustees. Other school boards placed under provincial supervision include the Toronto District School Board, the Dufferin-Peel Catholic School Board and the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board. The education minister said earlier this month that families in Ontario “deserve better” than trustees who treat classrooms like their own “personal expense account.” De Domenico, for his part, has said on social media that “underfunding is the real issue” and that the discussion around trustee expenses is “just a distraction.” In a statement to CTV News Toronto, de Domenico says that while all trustee expenses are, and have been, available to the public, he launched a website to make those expense reports more accessible to taxpayers. “As a bonus, I put an extra button so taxpayers could also see the expenses reports of MPPs in Ontario,” de Domenico wrote. “The minister would like me to reimburse the board for my iPhone power cord, which cost $12.42 seven years ago, but won’t explain why his government underfunded education at my board by $175 million over the same period.” The charger de Domenico is referencing to appears to be among the requested items for return, listed as an Anker iPhone powerline lightning cable. There are eight other charging accessories itemized on Calandra’s list. “… I will search through my kitchen drawer and find that seven-year-old power cord so the Minister of Education won’t lose sleep over it anymore. Then he can wake up and address the real issues facing students in Toronto,” de Domenico said. Critics of Calandra’s scrutiny over trustees say the real issue is the province underfunding their education system, with increases in funding falling behind the pace of inflation. “School board trustees, yes, they are elected by us, and they are there to help families advocate,” Kate Dudley Logue, vice president of community outreach with the Ontario Autism Coalition, previously told CTV News London. “What we’ve seen happening over the last number of years is they’re getting louder about the fact that schools are being underfunded…and it seems pretty clear that the government doesn’t like those voices being loud.” Calandra has said the province will announce its proposed school board governance model before the year’s end. With files from The Canadian Press
