TORONTO – Ontario’s education minister has asked officials to conduct a governance review of a Brantford-area Catholic school board after trustees spent $45,000 on a trip to Italy to buy $100,000 worth of art.
Trustees of the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board promised to pay back the trip expenses, not long after they were reported by the Brantford Expositor.
Education Minister Jill Dunlop says in a statement that while she acknowledges the board is taking steps “to fix their error in judgment,” she is concerned that it is happening only after the ministry and the public questioned the spending.
Dunlop says she has asked ministry officials to start the process to conduct a governance review of the board.
The Brantford Expositor reported that the art purchased in Italy included life-sized, hand-painted wooden statues of St. Padre Pio and the Virgin Mary, and board chair Rick Petrella initially told the newspaper that they commissioned the artwork because no off-the-shelf art “stood out.”
Petrella and the board of trustees now say in a subsequent statement that they regret the trip, and have promised to repay the expenses, as well as look at donations or other funding to offset the cost of the artwork to the board.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2024.
