Queen’s Park rips school board brass over retreat at Blue Jays stadium hotel

Top administrators with the London region’s largest school board took a harsh scolding when Ontario’s education ministry weighed in on their three-day retreat at a hotel inside the Toronto Blue Jays stadium amid a $7.6-million budget deficit.

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Eighteen senior executives at the Thames Valley District school board stayed at the former SkyDome hotel, now known as the Marriott City Center Hotel, from Aug. 19-21. Rooms cost $374 to $1,199 per night, hotel staff say, and the Jays were playing on all three dates.

In a statement, Ministry of Education spokesperson Edyta McKay told The Free Press “school boards are expected to get funding into classrooms to increase supports for students and better equip teachers.”

McKay added: “That means showing parents, teachers and community members that the school board can be a responsible steward of taxpayer dollars – something this retreat has brought into question.”

At their most recent board meeting, in June, Thames Valley trustees approved a motion that read “all professional development opportunities, travel and catered events must be reviewed to ensure cost effectiveness aligns with (the school board’s) strategic plan.”

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The motion also noted that “expenses must be saved where possible by considering location, transportation and catering efficiencies as required.”

The trustees were not involved in the Toronto back-to-school planning retreat, which involved 18 senior staffers. On Thursday, the board’s chair, Trustee Beth Mai, addressed for the first time the matter first uncovered by The Free Press earlier this week.

Mai said she and her fellow trustees take the matter “very seriously” and that they’re “committed to actions taken by the director, trustees and staff being consistent with the board’s policies and procedures.”

Via text message, Mai wrote: “We are dedicated to upholding the trust that the public places in us to manage resources effectively and in the best interest of our students. It is crucial that our actions reflect this trust and we will take any necessary steps to address the issue, including revisiting and strengthening our policies if required, to maintain the integrity of the board.”

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Thames Valley officials have refused to detail the exact cost of the retreat, organized to plan for the school year ahead.

Education director Mark Fisher defended the retreat in a Free Press interview earlier this week, saying it is “an industry standard” for all Ontario school boards, and the board had organized annual pre-school-year retreats for the last 16 years.

But a school board spokesperson said Wednesday that out-of-town retreats like this one are “likely an activity that will not continue moving forward.”

Fisher was unavailable for comment Thursday.

The Thames Valley board, with 30 high schools and 154 elementary schools across the London region, has an annual budget of roughly $1.2 billion. In June, trustees approved a 2024-25 spending plan with a $7.6-million deficit that had been reduced by $11 million through job and classroom-related cuts.

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There were 58 elementary-school and 24 high-school teaching positions cut along with 17 early childhood educator jobs and four positions in speech and psychological services.

The board plans to reduce its special education budget by almost $1 million by using tablets instead of laptops and cutting spending on security by $300,000, budget documents state. Funding for school trips will be slashed in half to $500,000.

Funding will also be reduced for school budgets, printing and photocopying, textbooks and learning materials, as well as $2 million in cuts to instructional supplies.

Craig Smith is president of the Thames Valley local of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario. He said budget cuts will be felt “by every student, every teacher” throughout the school year.

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“It’s easy to understand why people get their hackles up,” he said.

Top brass at the Thames Valley board were paid 12- to 33-per-cent more in 2023 compared to the year before. Fisher’s total income rose to $326,000 in 2023 from $283,000 in 2022, according to Ontario’s list of public-sector workers making $100,000 or more.

Some senior staff at the London Catholic board also got raises of more than 10 per cent, and, in some cases, as much as 30 per cent. The Catholic board, carrying a $1.3-million budget shortfall, held a one-night retreat in St. Catharines for roughly 20 senior staff this month, said a spokesperson who didn’t provide the full cost of the event.

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@HeatheratLFP

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