The cost of dealing with the public backlash after a trip to Italy by four Catholic school board trustees has now exceeded the actual cost of the trip.
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Information obtained by The Expositor through a Freedom of Information request says the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board has spent more than $63,000 on a team of lawyers and a public relations company to help the board manage the fallout after details about the $50,000 trip became public .
During that trip the trustees evaluated and purchased about $100,000 in artwork for the new St. Padre Pio Secondary School opening in the fall on Powerline Road in Brantford and for the new Pope Francis Elementary School opening in the fall in Caledonia.
Rick Petrella, board chair at the time, and trustees Bill Chopp, Dan Dignard and Mark Watson, traveled to South Tyrol last July and also stopped in Germany to ease jet-lag. Their expenses included upgraded airfare, a $1,600 dinner and alcohol.
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The public outcry and a petition calling for their immediate resignations quickly followed.
The province responded by appointing an investigator to review the board’s accountability policies, particularly since the board appeared to have changed the trustee expense policy just before the trip to include upgraded air travel and hotels and eliminate maximum rates for meals.
Since the trip became public, the board has changed its policy again, downgrading what is allowed and removing options to expense valet parking or alcohol.
The trustees involved quickly apologized and promised to pay back about $12,500 each in expenses. Ten-term board chair Petrella did not stand for re-election to the position in December. Norfolk trustee Carol Luciani, who did not go on the trip, was named the new chair.
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The board used legal crisis management firm Borden Ladner and Gervais and a team that included Enterprise Canada which, according to its website, offers “narrative and messaging” assistance during a crisis.
According to the invoice amounts provided to The Expositor, costs for crisis management started at just $1,761 and then leapt to more than $10,000 for multiple invoices, resulting in costs of $63,573.82 over the course of seven invoices submitted in about 25 weeks.
Dates for the specific invoices could not be provided by time of publication.
A board spokesperson said the costs covered work and advice both from the legal firm and the PR firm.
Asked about how each company helped the board deal with the aftermath of the trip, the spokesperson said “as we are currently undergoing a governance review by the Ministry of Education, we cannot share information or comment on items, or materials, that fall under the scope of that review.”
Aaron Shull, a lawyer who has been appointed by the province to review the involved finances and policies, could not be reached for comment about the status of that review.
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