New era of transparency at TVDSB

Thames Valley District School Board Chair Beth Mai, has promised great transparency and accountability when it comes to financial issues. (Contributed Photo)

Lee Griffi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Thames Valley District School Board has been under considerable fire of late thanks in large part to an ill-fated staff retreat at a downtown Toronto hotel. The three-day junket cost taxpayers close to $40,000 and has resulted in tremendous backlash from the community and the provincial government.

A release from the board stated, “This has been a learning experience for the TVDSB and will not happen again.”

The board, one of the largest in the province, currently has a deficit of nearly $8 million and shortly after the retreat cost was made public its director of education, Mark Fisher, went on a medical leave of absence.

“The Board is committed to ensuring that staff, students and families are supported during this time and we thank them for their patience,” said TVDSB chair Beth Mai.

Former director Bill Tucker has been named interim director and shortly after that announcement, the ministry announced it will perform an audit of the board’s finances.

The Thames Valley District School Board has been under considerable fire of late thanks in large part to an ill-fated staff retreat at a downtown Toronto hotel. The three-day junket cost taxpayers close to $40,000 and has resulted in tremendous backlash from the community and the provincial government.

A release from the board stated, “This has been a learning experience for the TVDSB and will not happen again.”

The board, one of the largest in the province, currently has a deficit of nearly $8 million and shortly after the retreat cost was made public its director of education, Mark Fisher, went on a medical leave of absence.

“The Board is committed to ensuring that staff, students and families are supported during this time and we thank them for their patience,” said TVDSB chair Beth Mai.

Former director Bill Tucker has been named interim director and shortly after that announcement, the ministry announced it will perform an audit of the board’s finances.

“The Thames Valley District School Board is pleased that the Ministry of Education is willing to lend their support and conduct an audit of accounts. The board has every confidence that Interim Director Bill Tucker will share the work that he is leading at the Board’s direction around accountability and transparency to the community as we prioritize student achievement and well-being,” read a statement from Mai.

The Gazette sat down with the board chair whose first comment was a commitment to talking to the media when asked.

“I really believe in communicating with the public and (the media) is the vehicle to do that whether the news is good or bad. It is important.”

Mai, a former teacher and special education advocate, said TVDSB had a surplus several years ago but the decision was made by the previous board to implement health and safety measures at schools during the pandemic above and beyond what was recommended. She added it is the director’s responsibility to ensure a balanced budget is met.

“That is part of the reason why the budget was depleted. There are additional pieces as the ministry gives us a certain amount of money for portables but we need more because our student populations are sometimes beyond what our schools can handle.”

She added the board does have the ability to move funds from one budget line into another and the money in each line must be spent or the province claws it back.

“You might need money somewhere else and a budget line may have been exhausted so we asked the ministry to make a change so that is going to help us. If there are properties that have been closed, we have the ability to sell them which will help as well.”

Mai said in the big picture there are two very serious challenges, not just for TVDSB, but for boards across the province.

“Those are related to the funding we get for staff absences. Our staff, and rightfully so, are using what is allowed in their collective agreements. We are paying a significant amount more from the surplus we had but we have essentially run out. We are looking at where that money is going to come from.”

The second issue is the benchmarks for the Canada Pension Plan and Employment Insurance changed and she said the province hasn’t kept up which greatly hurts the bottom line.

“We are required to pay the CPP and EI for our employees but the ministry hasn’t given us the appropriate funding to be able to do that. If one of those things doesn’t change, we are in big trouble. To me, it’s common sense.”

In 2025 the board will not be allowed to run a deficit, putting even more pressure on the organization to implement cost-cutting measures or receive more funding. Mai said there were no cuts to staff in the classroom but instead, there was tightening at the board office.

“There were some positions we had trouble filling including psychologists since private practice is much more lucrative so staff took those out of the budget. We didn’t lose any staff on the ground.”

Mai explained they are obligated to be financial stewards of the board’s financial resources but also responsible for student achievement and well-being.

“If you are caught in-between where you don’t believe you can meet the needs of students with the budget that is provided then you have a responsibility to say something.”

If the board determines it is not able to balance its budget in 2025, the Ministry of Education would become involved in the process to ensure the budget is balanced.