Toronto Catholic Trustees averaged $107,000
Posted by Sandy on May 16th, 2008
Why do we have elected trustees on school boards at the municipal level? We have them to oversee the education and well being of children and youth living in a specific municipality — representing both public and separate (Catholic) rate payers. And, key in that role of overseer is making sure money is spent wisely and appropriately.
While we frequently like to say that elected officials should spend public money as if it were their own — we don’t mean that literally. Yet, when we hear the “average” amount allocated to some Toronto trustees last year was $107,218, what are we, the public, supposed to think?
Well, clearly, the school board trustees that took that amount of money out of a school board budget thought they were “entitled” to it. That board is the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB). And, as the Toronto Sun editorial says today the Education Minister will have to take over this board and appoint a provincial supervisor in order ”to restore fiscal sanity.”
What is especially unfortunate with this type of “collective failure” is that it silences the competent trustee voices in the confusion. How very frustrating it must be to be a hard working and effective trustee on that board, such as John Del Grande, who the Sun says filed 21 motions proposing various reforms.
In brief, here is what both happened and didn’t happen, at a TCDSB board meeting this past Wednesday evening:
- The trustees would NOT deal with their expense account abuses. They simply ignored they had a problem at all and put off discussing the matter until May 21st — the same day Education Minister Kathleen Wynn set for them to provide a plan that would ensure those types of abuses would not happen again.
- The board approved its budget “without following a staff recommendation to send out layoff notices to 85 teachers, mainly due to declining enrolment in elementary schools.” And, since collective agreements only provide two times in a year when those types of notices can go out, those 85 teachers cannot now be given similar notice until December.
- The trustees passed a budget that will now have another $5 million in salaries and benefits because they didn’t send out those 85 notices – meaning the TCDSB will have a deficit of $10 million, not its current estimate of $5 million.
For those who have not been following this board’s expense account scandal, compare what the Sun refers to as “gold-plated pay and perks packages averaging $107,218 per trustee“ with the ”$27,301 per trustee at the comparable Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board.” While certainly a more reasonable amount of money, in my opinion, the $27 thousand dollars is also too much!
There was a reason the Mike Harris government took away taxing powers from Ontario school boards and passed legislation that only allowed board trustees a stipend of $5000 plus minor expenses. Now, it seems that boards have found creative ways of increasing those so-called “minor” expenses. For example, look at this document describing the board expenses at the Waterloo public board. They spend, on average, $20, 273 per trustee or higher if the trustee holds more responsibility.
What I find interesting is that the Waterloo trustees still start with the (Harris era) $5000 amount and go up from there — which is likely how all Ontario trustees figure out their expenses. However, I can accept an amount in the $20,000 range, particularly for trustees elected in Ontario’s many rural boards because they would have significant travel related expenses.
But, clearly one can’t say the same for the majority on the Toronto Catholic Board — who just don’t seem to get it! Or, do they? Who do you suppose benefits when layoff notices are not sent out in time? What else might be going on here?
Just wondering.
[...]
H/T to Cathy Cove. C/P at Jack’s Newswatch.
May 16th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
For those of us with special needs children (ie: Autism Spectrum Disorders) who are continually told that there is no money to provide adequate support, such as an EA, this is infuriating! Even if we trimmed $50,000 off the “average” expenditure, that saves $600,000!!!!! TAXPAYER DOLLARS!!!! Maybe that’s small change in the center of the education-universe known as Toronto, but in Northern Ontario that kind of money would go a long way in helping the kids here that need it. Throw in the fact that a local Catholic school board has to “get back to us” to let us know *IF* they will accept our child for a transfer / enrolment from the regular public school system (because she is a special needs student) and there are now a few more people that see no need to have 4 school boards.
May 16th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Likewise, to those boards having to close schools to find savings and which are being under-funded in the building of new promised schools, this is very insulting.
It’s really too bad that Ontario wasn’t able to have the ability to conduct forensic audits in all school boards.
Unfortunately this whole question of accounting for taxdollars puts an unfair black mark on all boards and trustees.
Wrong I know but if nothing is done the optics looks as if the gov’t doesn’t care, or has a bottom-less pit of money at its disposal.
May 16th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
I can see Ontario keeping trustees as locally elected representatives for local student’s interests, with a small annual fee for their service, and compensation for their expenses- travel at 30 cents per km., $25.00 meal per dium, accomodation costs in large geographical districts. Otherwise, they’re not worth the cost. The superintendants and other board staff can handle it. And don’t get me started on the Catholic thing- that whole system is an utter waste. If- and it’s a big ‘if’- Ontario chooses to fund any religious schools or programming, they can be alternatives in the public system, they do not need a separate system. I love that these were Catholic trustees abusing the system- it helps all the people of Ontario get the message that we’re being taken advantage of by that system. I don’t blame the Catholics for wanting to keep their own special schools, but I sure blame the legislature for failing to address the problem.
May 16th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Greetings from Kamloops BC. Our city and surrounding communities have a population of about 100,000 people and our School Board Trustees make about $6000 plus travel expenses if needed. Our FB schools all have volunteer boards and come under the auspices of the local government school board.
It sounds to me that union/sucking up to the government trough has taken hold in Ontario and, with the downturn in your economy, some are in for a rude awakening. It is one thing to institute reforms the way Harris did when the economy was good. Then there is a lot of resistence but people are much more amenable to downsizing when the economy is poor.
The general consensus is that why should civil sevants and elected officials live high off the hog while the average worker is laid off. People buy into reforms much more quickly when they see the necessity of it.
Unfortunately until you get rid of Miller and McGuinty it is going to be a rocky existence. Cheers.
May 16th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Good trustees, like good teacher, principal and parents are worth their weight in gold to an effectively functioning system.
I’ve known way too many good trustees who have gone in with honourable intentions, but who all too often become handy extensions of the Min. of Ed. bureaucracy. That’s just wrong for communities and wrong for education in this province.
Over the past years, with a much more hands-on government (some would say micro-managing)the role of the trustee is being eroded bit by bit. The way some boards are implementing the new school accommodation reviews is a good example.
In some boards the trustees aren’t involved as a group in attending the discussions at local level, only being in attendance to receive the local ARC’s recommendations. Something is drastically lost between school catchment community and elected representatives in those cases.
I can’t recall where I read it but someone suggested that the individual trustees who abused their position and misused the money should have their cases turned over to the police. I understand that only if convicted of an offense can a trustee lose their seat. I really think their needs to be more consequences for written into the Ed. Act for trustees who abuse either their position or the public purse. All we can do now, as voters is turf the culprits on election day, but sadly not too many pay attention to municipal elections or even know who their trustee is.
May 16th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
Continuing on from Northern Ontario Tory and other commenters, if you go to the TCDSB website link in this post, there are 13 elected trustees. If you multiply 13 times 107,000 (and I am assuming the Chair the Vice-Chair earn more)that equals a whopping $1,391,000. Now, for argument’s sake, you assumed they made on average $20,000 instead. That amount times 13 equals $260,000.
Therefore, and you can see this coming, that means a savings of $1,131,000. Right — one million, one hundred thousand and thirty-one dollars.
Money that could be allocated towards such things as:
(1) autism treatments,
(2) the hiring of educational assistants,
(3) library and/or technical school-based resources,
(4) keeping small rural schools open.
Instead we are paying towards far too many people who are not doing what they were elected to do. So, as a couple of commenters suggested, why do we have them at all? They don’t have them in New Brunswick for example, and they are doing just fine.
May 16th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
To respond to my own question in the previous comment: Why do we have trustees at all? I have no idea — particularly when you realize that the hidden agenda (which isn’t actually very hidden) at that TCDSB meeting was to collude with the teachers unions by not sending out layoff notices to 85 teachers. Why indeed?
May 18th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Sandy as usual you know how to get the “crux” of the matter!
I do know that in the TCDSB there are a very few really good trustees. John Del Grande, is certainly one of the good ones. It’s too bad that the optics are such that all of them get painted with the same brush. I suppose the ultimate time to get rid of them is at the ballot box.
And yes, sometimes it does seem that nowadays trustees seem like nothing more than rubber stampers for either the ministry and/or the teacher unions. I say get rid of all boards and make every school a locally governed school. Failing that, give parents a voucher and let them choose any school.
May 18th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Educ8m — This is precisely why the Harris government took away their taxing powers. Can you imagine what our municipal tax bill would look like if all the trustees’ perks were added up. I tend to agree that trustees are no longer needed and they have only themselves to blame.
But, what party would be willing to take on the status quo — the powerful unions and the trustees combined. If you thought the FB debate was fierce, we haven’t seen anything to compare what this would be like. And, I’m not sure the general public would understand because so few vote in municipal elections.
But, hopefully John Tory will do something about this because if it’s not controversial and water cooler fodder, no one is going to listen.