TORONTO – Autumn is close but the atmosphere is heating up at the Toronto Catholic District School Board, one of the school boards placed under “supervision” by the Ontario government in an effort to restore its budget, which has consistently been in the red in recent years despite millions of dollars poured in from the Province itself.
In recent days, Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra was interviewed by Global News inside the office of TCDSB board chair Markus de Domenico, who has come under fire from the Ministry for a series of expenses that were at least “discrepant” from a school’s educational activities. Specifically, the supervisor —examining seven years of expenses made by de Domenico with board funds, totaling approximately $90,000—reportedly discovered purchases that were not in line with the school’s educational activities, such as (for example) drinks and food, a $145 Apple Watch band, and five TV wallmounts.
“I mean, you’re in his office, do you see five TVs hanging on the walls here? No, so what do you need five TV wall amounts?” Calandra said. “It’s symptomatic of a larger problem in the system, that any dollar that is spent outside of the class is a dollar not going to help a student achieve…” added Calandra who also issued a letter to de Domenico with an itemized list of 61 items asking him to return $6,700 worth of items “purchased with taxpayers’ dollars. Any of the resources that you used as a trustee in supervised boards, we want that back” Calandra said. “Whether it’s iPads, chargers, phones, that should all be returned to us…”.
For his part, de Domenico told Global News that “all expenses are vetted by staff” and suggested the government is deliberately targeting him. “The Ministry continues to personally attack me in order to silence me from doing what I have always done; speaking out for students, families, and our most vulnerable special education kids who have been so poorly served by the ministry” de Domenico said, adding that he is willing to return “whatever they feel is appropriate”.
Calandra, meanwhile, is also facing criticism for his spending as a member of the provincial government and parliament. In a press release issued Thursday, the Toronto and York Region Labour Council attacked the Minister, quoting the words of some TCDSB trustees, including Maria Rizzo. “Minister Paul Calandra likely receives $40,000 a year for a constituency office and is expensing tens of thousands to taxpayers for food, hotels and events” Rizzo said. “My fellow trustees and I don’t have a constituency office — it’s the local Tim Horton’s. The cost of our offices is a coffee or a milkshake for a constituent…”.
The Minister’s office immediately responded, calling it “ridiculous” to compare the expenses of part-time school trustees to those of a Minister and emphasizing that ministerial “events” are free, open to all, and designed to connect with residents, and that the funds provincial parliamentarians can request are strictly regulated.
In short, it’s open warfare between the TCDSB and Calandra. And it’s going to be a hot autumn.
In the pic above , Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra (from X – @PaulCalandra)
