A lavish publicly-funded July trip to Italy to purchase artwork for high schools is not going away for four Brantford school trustees as their union calls for their resignations.
In an open letter to the trustees, the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Unit of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (BHN OECTA) says the union is asking the men to step down.
Acting unit president Carlo Fortino called on the members to resign, saying the “decision was not made lightly” and their actions have “weakened the essential trust that their members, students, parents … and staff have in the trustees.”
“As time has progressed there have been more revelations, which are obviously quite concerning to my membership and members of the community,” Fortino said in an interview with CHCH News.
He added that Ontario’s Ministry of Education “did promise to make a review and, yet, since that promise was made, we have not heard of anything being done.”
In July, Rick Petrella, school board chair, along with three others, Dan Dignard, Bill Chopp and Mark Watson, went to South Tyrol, where they purchased $100,000 worth of custom art for two new high schools.
Fortino wrote directly in the letter to the trustees that the inappropriate spending has “significantly eroded confidence in [their] ability to make sound, responsible decisions that reflect the needs and values of our school community.”
The letter also stated that $45,000 in travel expenses was incurred with “little transparency,” and that $1,600 was spent on a dinner out.
Some students and parents called the trip an “abuse of power,” stating the monies could have been put to use elsewhere in the schools.
The BHN OECTA represents 1,000 elementary, secondary and occasional teachers who teach in publicly funded English Catholic schools.
