Ontario’s premier says he is frustrated by stories of “unacceptable” spending by provincial school boards, which have prompted recent audits by the education minister.
“They frustrate me,” Premier Doug Ford said during an unrelated Oct. 25 news conference in Oshawa when a reporter asked if it was time to do away with the school board model.
Ford referenced the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board (BHNCDSB) which sent trustees to Italy for the commissioning of art for St. Padre Pio Catholic Secondary School and Pope Francis Catholic Elementary School.
“They decide to go on a fancy trip to Italy, and they spend $45,000 in taxpayers’ money,” Ford said during the conference. “They’re going to buy $100,000 worth of artwork in Italy for their schools. The cheese slipped off the cracker with these guys. I just don’t get it.”…