Ontario probing trustees who bought $100K in art for new school on Italy trip

An Ontario Catholic school board is under fire after a group of its trustees went to Italy this summer to buy $100,000 worth of artwork for a new school.

Education Minister Jill Dunlop told Global News in a statement Thursday that she has asked her ministry to launch an investigation into the trip by the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board trustees.

“Our government increased public education funding to historic levels to support student achievement and better equip teachers in the classrooms, not to expense trips on public dollars by school board staff. In this instance, the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board (BHNCDSB) not only failed students and parents but the community with a serious lack of fiscal responsibility and judgement,” she said.

“School boards are expected to be responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars, whether in a deficit or surplus situation. I take this issue seriously and I have asked my Ministry to explore all options available to investigate this matter.”

The investigation stems from a Tuesday report in the Brantford Expositor that revealed four BHNCDSB trustees went on a $45,000 Italy trip for a week in July to buy the artwork for a new high school under construction in Brantford, which is near Hamilton.

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BHNCDSB board chair Rick Petrella told the Expositor the artwork, which includes life-sized, hand-painted wooden statues of St. Padre Pio and the Virgin Mary, is part of a plan to make the new school a “flagship” institution for the board. It is set to open in September 2026.

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The Expositor reported the trustees also bought a bust of Pope Francis for another new school set to open in September 2025 in Caledonia. Petrella told the outlet he bought a hand-carved crucifix for the boardroom at the board office, and donated an outdoor statue for the courtyard of the new Brantford high school.

The trustees travelled to South Tyrol, an area known for producing religious art since the 1500s, the Expositor reported. Artists there have supplied work to the Pope in the past, the outlet indicated.

Petrella told the Expositer he had been researching art there and was talking to artists, but after realizing they were going to spend a decent amount, they had to “do our due diligence.” Petrella said the board was able to “negotiate better pricing” given the volume it intended to buy.

Funding from the artwork came from the board’s $33-million surplus, while funding for their trip came out of a general allocation used for trustee travel and expenses, Petrella told the outlet.

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He added that board approval for the artwork and the trip wasn’t required given the dollar figure was small when compared with the $46 million being spent on the school, and the fact that money makes up the bigger budget approval process, which is OK’d by the board annually.

The BHNCDSB did not return a request for comment by publication time.

The cost of another school board trip this year has also caught the ministry’s eye.

A $38,444.92 summer retreat by members of the Thames Valley District School Board is under audit by the ministry. The fee for the retreat in Toronto included transportation, a stay at the Blue Jays stadium hotel, meeting spaces and food expenses.

The board’s chair and interim director of education called the trip a “learning experience” that would “not happen again.”

The trip cost came just days after the director of education, Mark Fisher, went on a leave of absence.

The school board would not state the reason for the leave of absence, but it did come following pushback to disclose the cost of the trip from the local union representing early childhood educators.

CUPE Local 4222 president Mary Henry criticized the spending, especially with the board dealing with a $7.6-million deficit for the 2024-25 budget.

— with files from Sawyer Bogdan

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