A flash from the past:
Toronto Star
The surprising results come after two unprecedented appeals by Toronto Archbishop Thomas Collins urging Catholics to elect trustees who have “respect for the law,” and the recent formation of several parent groups urging voters to make a clean sweep of all 12 trustees.
“Of the six incumbents that got back in, five of them have no business being on the board,” said Michael Baillargeon, an organizer of Catholics United for a Responsible Ballot, a group formed to inform voters about issues in the trustee race. “But in the end, you can’t blame a politician for being incompetent because you elected them.”
The damning findings of a 2008 Ernst & Young audit of the spending practices of the trustees over a 4½-year period seems to have made less of a dent in the support for the incumbents than expected.
The audit found trustees charged taxpayers almost $30,000 for questionable and ineligible expenses, including alcohol, Internet gambling, vacations and jewellery. The board then went into provincial supervision when trustees violated the Education Act by passing a deficit budget.
One trustee was kicked off the board for failing to attend meetings, and two others — including former chairwoman Angela Kennedy, who was re-elected on Monday — were removed from their seats for contravening the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act.
“We’ve all learned a lot from the previous couple of years and every trustee in the province has learned from our experiences,” said Ms. Kennedy, who won back her seat in Ward 11 with 47% of the vote.
In August, Ms. Kennedy was ousted from her seat by a judge, who found she had violated conflict of interest laws by voting on 2008 budget motions linked to staff layoffs, even though her two sons were employed at the board. She has appealed the decision.
“Some matters that were thought to be routine and innocuous were not,” she said, adding that the first priority for the new board of trustees should be to get out of provincial supervision. “I’m ready to move forward.”
Former chairwoman Catherine LeBlanc-Miller and trustee Joe Martino were not re-elected. Ms. Kennedy’s main rival, parent Kevin Morrison, called Monday’s results a “sad reflection” on the Catholic community.
“I’m saddened that my children, my family, our students are being represented by someone found to have contravened the conflict of interest act,” said Mr. Morrison, who lost to Ms. Kennedy by 1,800 votes. “It’s also sad from a Catholic perspective because it means the message being sent by our spiritual leader didn’t reach the flocks.”
On Friday, Archbishop Collins issued the second of two letters urging Catholic ratepayers to elect trustees who will represent them with “honour and dignity.”
“Competence, wisdom, maturity, fiscal responsibility, respect for the law, and the capacity to work effectively with fellow trustees for the common good of Catholic Education — these are essential qualities in a Catholic School Trustee,” he wrote. Also re-elected was Ward 3 incumbent Sal Piccininni, who was found by the Ernst & Young audit to have spent $13,804 in questionable expenses — the highest of any trustee.
National Post
Toronto District School Board: August 2002 to February 2004
Full statement by Education Minister Leona Dombrowsky
Published on Tue Dec 01 2009
Angela Kennedy, left, and Barbara Poplawski are accused of conflict of interest in a budget debate last year.
Two long-time Toronto Catholic trustees, one of them chair of the board, are facing conflict-of-interest allegations less than a year after the former chair was ousted in a similar case.
Archbishop’s final plea to Catholics: Elect ‘exemplary’ trustees
Catholic voters are being "strongly urged" by Toronto’s Archbishop Thomas Collins to vote for “exemplary” trustees in Monday's election.
Toronto Star
Toronto’s archbishop has issued a final, urgent plea to Catholics to “vote wisely” and only support trustee candidates who are “exemplary in personal integrity and conduct.”
“I strongly urge you to vote Monday in the municipal elections,” says a letter from Archbishop Thomas Collins to be shared with parishioners across Greater Toronto this Sunday.
“The political leaders who serve at the municipal level have an immediate, practical and profound influence on the well-being of the whole community.”
This is the second such letter from Collins encouraging parishioners to become informed and select trustee candidates who will serve in the best interest of Catholic education.
Collins, who is the honorary director of education of the Toronto Catholic District School Board, took the extraordinary step of allowing politics at Greater Toronto parishes this election, giving candidates an unprecedented opportunity to campaign on church property on several Sundays ending last week.
“I urge each eligible parishioner to assess rigorously the candidates for the vitally important position of Catholic school board trustee, holding them accountable to the highest standards, and to vote conscientiously” on election day, the letter also says.
While not naming the Toronto Catholic board among the several encompassed by his archdiocese, Collins says that electors need trustees who show “competence, wisdom, maturity, fiscal responsibility, respect for the law, and the capacity to work effectively with fellow trustees for the common good of Catholic education.”
Toronto’s Catholic trustees have been at the centre of a number of controversies over the past two years, from spending abuses to public spats to voting themselves unauthorized health and dental benefits despite legal advice not to.
They also voted themselves car allowances they weren’t entitled to and later failed to balance the board’s budget as required under the Education Act, which led to a provincial takeover that continues to this day.
After a scathing report two years ago on their expenses and spending, Collins issued a statement that said those actions “fall far short of the standard expected of any board exercising a public trust . . . the board’s actions over the past few years reflects poorly on Catholic education and on our whole Catholic community.”
Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice has also removed two trustees — Oliver Carroll and Angela Kennedy — from the board over conflict of interest. Kennedy is appealing.
The case against a third, Barbara Poplawski, remains before the courts.
In all, eight are running for re-election: Kennedy, Poplawski, Sal Piccininni, Maria Rizzo, John Del Grande, Joseph Martino, Ann Andrachuk and Catherine LeBlanc-Miller.
Can you think of any reasons why I put this on here? Your comments are welcome.
"Memories, like the corners of my mind..."
Six returned to scandal-plagued Catholic School Board
| October 27, 2010 9:00 AM ET
Voters hoping for change at the scandal-plagued Toronto Catholic District School Board were left scratching their heads on Tuesday after six incumbent trustees were returned to office, despite a legacy of abysmal financial management, expense account abuses and conflict of interest rulings.| October 27, 2010 9:00 AM ET
The surprising results come after two unprecedented appeals by Toronto Archbishop Thomas Collins urging Catholics to elect trustees who have “respect for the law,” and the recent formation of several parent groups urging voters to make a clean sweep of all 12 trustees.
“Of the six incumbents that got back in, five of them have no business being on the board,” said Michael Baillargeon, an organizer of Catholics United for a Responsible Ballot, a group formed to inform voters about issues in the trustee race. “But in the end, you can’t blame a politician for being incompetent because you elected them.”
The damning findings of a 2008 Ernst & Young audit of the spending practices of the trustees over a 4½-year period seems to have made less of a dent in the support for the incumbents than expected.
The audit found trustees charged taxpayers almost $30,000 for questionable and ineligible expenses, including alcohol, Internet gambling, vacations and jewellery. The board then went into provincial supervision when trustees violated the Education Act by passing a deficit budget.
One trustee was kicked off the board for failing to attend meetings, and two others — including former chairwoman Angela Kennedy, who was re-elected on Monday — were removed from their seats for contravening the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act.
“We’ve all learned a lot from the previous couple of years and every trustee in the province has learned from our experiences,” said Ms. Kennedy, who won back her seat in Ward 11 with 47% of the vote.
In August, Ms. Kennedy was ousted from her seat by a judge, who found she had violated conflict of interest laws by voting on 2008 budget motions linked to staff layoffs, even though her two sons were employed at the board. She has appealed the decision.
“Some matters that were thought to be routine and innocuous were not,” she said, adding that the first priority for the new board of trustees should be to get out of provincial supervision. “I’m ready to move forward.”
Former chairwoman Catherine LeBlanc-Miller and trustee Joe Martino were not re-elected. Ms. Kennedy’s main rival, parent Kevin Morrison, called Monday’s results a “sad reflection” on the Catholic community.
“I’m saddened that my children, my family, our students are being represented by someone found to have contravened the conflict of interest act,” said Mr. Morrison, who lost to Ms. Kennedy by 1,800 votes. “It’s also sad from a Catholic perspective because it means the message being sent by our spiritual leader didn’t reach the flocks.”
On Friday, Archbishop Collins issued the second of two letters urging Catholic ratepayers to elect trustees who will represent them with “honour and dignity.”
“Competence, wisdom, maturity, fiscal responsibility, respect for the law, and the capacity to work effectively with fellow trustees for the common good of Catholic Education — these are essential qualities in a Catholic School Trustee,” he wrote. Also re-elected was Ward 3 incumbent Sal Piccininni, who was found by the Ernst & Young audit to have spent $13,804 in questionable expenses — the highest of any trustee.
National Post
Province returns power to Toronto’s Catholic trustees
The Ontario government has returned power to the Toronto Catholic District School board after the longest takeover of a board in the province following a string of trustee spending scandals and the board’s failure to balance its budget.
By: Kristin Rushowy and Robert Benzie Staff Reporters, Published on Fri Jan 28 2011
Toronto Star
After two years, seven months and 25 days under provincial supervision — the longest in Ontario — Toronto Catholic school board trustees have regained power.
The province took control of the scandal-plagued board June 4, 2008 after trustees, facing a string of embarrassing revelations about their spending abuses, also failed to balance the board’s budget as required under the Education Act.
“In 2008, the board was in serious financial trouble and trustee misspending had eroded public confidence and undermined the board's authority,” Education Minister Leona Dombrowsky said in a statement released Friday afternoon.
“That is why we appointed a supervisor to help the board regain financial stability and help trustees develop more effective governance practices. We have worked hard in the past two years to make important changes, successfully working with the board to manage its finances and get back on track.”
Supervisor Richard Alway confirmed late last year that the board had erased its deficit and provided audited statements to the province to confirm its financial situation.
Once that was complete, he said provincial cabinet could return the board’s 12 trustees to power.
Because of last October’s municipal election, just six trustees now on the board were members of the previous, troubled board.
Toronto’s Catholic board is one of five in Ontario stripped of power in recent years for not balancing the books. The others are:
• Hamilton Wentworth District School Board: August 2002 to December 2003
• Ottawa Carleton District School Board: August 2002 to December 2003
• Dufferin Peel Catholic District School Board: October 2006 to August 2007.
“All of us share a strong commitment to publicly funded Catholic education, and we collectively have a vision for the Toronto Catholic District School Board that focuses on student achievement, fiscal responsibility and public accountability,” she said in a written statement.
Full statement by Education Minister Leona Dombrowsky
Supervision Ends At The Toronto Catholic District School Board
January 28, 2011
Today marks the end of provincial supervision at the Toronto Catholic District School Board. This means the trustees elected in October 2010 will now have full authority as the board.
In 2008, the board was in serious financial trouble and trustee misspending had eroded public confidence and undermined the board's authority. That is why we appointed a supervisor to help the board regain financial stability and help trustees develop more effective governance practices. We have worked hard in the past two years to make important changes, successfully working with the board to manage its finances and get back on track.
I wish to thank Dr. Richard Alway for his work as supervisor and for the strong and collaborative leadership he has provided the board. I also want to thank parents, students, and others in the community who worked with Dr. Alway to help restore confidence in the board.
In his final report to me, Dr. Alway has outlined a number of recommendations he believes would contribute to the board’s ongoing success, including:
• collaboration between the board of trustees and senior staff on the board’s strategic direction and multi-year plan;
• faithfully implementing the policy addressing parent and stakeholder concerns;
• respect, civility and professionalism amongst trustees and between trustees and senior administration;
• evaluation of any newly appointed director be based on an agreed-upon performance plan between the board of trustees and the director;
• ongoing communication between the board and the ministry;
• improve the board’s website and other means of communicating with the school board community.
I support his recommendations and have requested quarterly reports on their implementation. I have also asked the board to provide interim financial reports and a multi-year strategic plan on achieving its mandate.
Today the board’s operating budget is balanced and the capital deficit has been addressed. Better financial reporting practices are firmly in place, including an improved policy on trustee expenses and a new, transparent budget process that emphasizes fiscal sustainability.
The board has also improved ties with the community. This commitment to ensure good governance has positioned it to meet its mandate for student success and promote confidence in publicly-funded education.
Effective school board governance is a prerequisite to student success. It is a public expectation and it is the law. I place a great deal of importance on the role of locally elected trustees in serving their students and communities. The board can now start a new chapter in working for the people it serves and focus on implementing important programs like full-day kindergarten to help our youngest learners get a strong start in life.
I look forward to working with board trustees and staff to ensure recent progress will continue well into the future.
Source: Ontario Ministry of Education
Catholic Board chair tried to change conflict rules
Toronto Catholic District School Board chair Angela Kennedy – currently facing conflict-of-interest allegations – helped usher in the board's conflict policy and two years later tried to have it changed, board documents show.
By: Kristin Rushowy Education Reporter, Published on Mon Nov 23 2009
Toronto Star
Toronto Catholic District School Board chair Angela Kennedy – currently facing conflict-of-interest allegations – helped usher in the board's conflict policy and two years later tried to have it changed, board documents show.
According to agendas and minutes of board meetings, in 2004 Kennedy – then a trustee – and colleague Oliver Carroll argued for a review of the rules.
In 2005, they failed in their attempt to have the board's conflict rules amended to exclude siblings.
At the time, both had siblings working as teachers, board documents say.
The Municipal Conflict of Interest Act requires trustees to declare a conflict and not take part in discussions or votes on matters where they have a financial interest, including if they have a parent, spouse or child employed by the board. The Catholic board has gone further, urging trustees to also declare a conflict if they have siblings who work there.
Earlier this year, Carroll was ousted from the board for taking part in discussions and voting on budgetary matters at a May 2008 meeting that could have led to teacher layoffs, even though his daughter was a newly hired teacher. He was also ordered to pay almost $50,000 in court costs.
Now, Kennedy and long-time trustee Barbara Poplawski have been accused of conflict of interest by a ratepayer who says they, too, debated and voted on budget motions at that same May 2008 meeting. At the time, Kennedy's son was working as a high-school teacher on a long-term contract and Poplawski's daughter was an education assistant.
The case has yet to be dealt with in Ontario's Superior Court of Justice.
Kennedy and Poplawski have issued a public statement saying they did not act "inappropriately or in contravention" of the Act, and that they are paying their own court costs.
`We're validating role of trustees'
Changes to Ontario's Education Act have made school boards responsible for student achievement and well-being. Now it's time to define what that means.
Published on Tue Dec 01 2009
Changes to Ontario's Education Act have made school boards responsible for student achievement and well-being. Now it's time to define what that means.
Bill 177 was passed Monday, altering in several ways how school boards interact with the Ministry of Education.
"We're validating the role of trustees," said Education Minister Kathleen Wynne.
Wynne said the definition of "achievement and well-being" would be decided in discussions led by the ministry, involving trustees, teachers and parents.
But Rob Davis, a trustee with the Toronto Catholic District School Board, was "disappointed" the province hadn't included a conflict-of-interest amendment that would have prevented board members whose spouses are teachers from becoming board chairs or vice-chairs.
Denise Balkissoon
Parents should vote on Catholic board chair, trustee says
A Toronto Catholic trustee says parents - not he and his colleagues - should choose the board's new chair in December.
By: Kristin Rushowy Education Reporter, Published on Mon Nov 16 2009
A Toronto Catholic trustee says parents - not he and his colleagues - should choose the board's new chair in December.
Rob Davis is appealing to the provincial supervisor, who runs the Toronto Catholic District School Board, to allow parents to somehow vote on the issue rather than leave it up to trustees, who are yet again facing trouble as two are accused of conflict of interest.
He says parishes, even student councils at high schools, could be included.
"The potential for a smooth and non-controversial election for chair and vice-chair does not bode well," Davis says in a memo to provincial supervisor Richard Alway and fellow trustees sent Monday.
Davis notes that the last time trustees voted in a chair last January, there was animosity amongst some trustees as well as an ongoing court case alleging conflict of interest launched against trustee Oliver Carroll for which some board members and staff provided affidavits on both sides.
"The last time the trustees voted for the chair and vice-chair positions the ensuing bad media from the divisive nature of the process was a setback" for the board, says Davis' memo.
"The process was divisive in part because of ongoing legal action commenced by a ratepayer against one trustee..... Unfortunately the similar conditions exist as we fast approach the annual election of chair and vice-chair," with conflict of interest cases launched against current Chair Angela Kennedy and veteran Trustee Barbara Poplawski.
Alway is out of town and could not be reached for comment.
A spokesperson from the Ministry of Education said it is not aware of parents ever electing a chair, but notes the Education Act requires trustees to hold such a vote at their first meeting in December.
Davis, however, said he is not married to any one method - trustees could even vote to endorse whomever ratepayers had chosen.
He came up with the idea at a parent conference on the weekend, and after Alway had asked for some input on electing a new chair.
"It came to me like a lightning bolt.....that we empower parent groups to make the decision," said Davis, adding it could be done through a direct vote, or by having parent councils at schools send a designate to vote on candidates. Student councils at high schools could also participate, he added.
Because the board is under provincial supervision after failing to balance its budget and a number of spending scandals, "in our very unusual state of limbo I thought we could try something new.....and help (parents) take back their boardroom," Davis added.
"I think this helps us back on the road to restoring faith into the institution."
Davis, who will not run for chair, says all trustees would have to consent to allowing parents to make the decision. He doesn't think there would be any major costs to such a move.
"I am hopeful that you will give full consideration to the idea of engaging our ratepayers, parishes, parents, and students in a manner the likes of which has never been done at the TCDSB," Davis' memo also says. "To be certain it would be uncharted waters. With good faith on the part of all trustees I believe we can not only avoid the waiting icebergs, but navigate to safer more calm waters in a way that re-establishes our reputation for innovation, responsiveness, and accountability."
Paula Peroni, president of the Ontario Catholic School Trustees' Association, said the opportunity is already there for trustees to consult with parents before voting. She wasn't sure how much traction Davis' idea will have.
"The opportunity is there if they want to (consult)," she said, adding the current system of trustees electing a chair - their leader - has been in place for years.
He says parishes, even student councils at high schools, could be included.
"The potential for a smooth and non-controversial election for chair and vice-chair does not bode well," Davis says in a memo to provincial supervisor Richard Alway and fellow trustees sent Monday.
Davis notes that the last time trustees voted in a chair last January, there was animosity amongst some trustees as well as an ongoing court case alleging conflict of interest launched against trustee Oliver Carroll for which some board members and staff provided affidavits on both sides.
"The last time the trustees voted for the chair and vice-chair positions the ensuing bad media from the divisive nature of the process was a setback" for the board, says Davis' memo.
"The process was divisive in part because of ongoing legal action commenced by a ratepayer against one trustee..... Unfortunately the similar conditions exist as we fast approach the annual election of chair and vice-chair," with conflict of interest cases launched against current Chair Angela Kennedy and veteran Trustee Barbara Poplawski.
Alway is out of town and could not be reached for comment.
A spokesperson from the Ministry of Education said it is not aware of parents ever electing a chair, but notes the Education Act requires trustees to hold such a vote at their first meeting in December.
Davis, however, said he is not married to any one method - trustees could even vote to endorse whomever ratepayers had chosen.
He came up with the idea at a parent conference on the weekend, and after Alway had asked for some input on electing a new chair.
"It came to me like a lightning bolt.....that we empower parent groups to make the decision," said Davis, adding it could be done through a direct vote, or by having parent councils at schools send a designate to vote on candidates. Student councils at high schools could also participate, he added.
Because the board is under provincial supervision after failing to balance its budget and a number of spending scandals, "in our very unusual state of limbo I thought we could try something new.....and help (parents) take back their boardroom," Davis added.
"I think this helps us back on the road to restoring faith into the institution."
Davis, who will not run for chair, says all trustees would have to consent to allowing parents to make the decision. He doesn't think there would be any major costs to such a move.
"I am hopeful that you will give full consideration to the idea of engaging our ratepayers, parishes, parents, and students in a manner the likes of which has never been done at the TCDSB," Davis' memo also says. "To be certain it would be uncharted waters. With good faith on the part of all trustees I believe we can not only avoid the waiting icebergs, but navigate to safer more calm waters in a way that re-establishes our reputation for innovation, responsiveness, and accountability."
Paula Peroni, president of the Ontario Catholic School Trustees' Association, said the opportunity is already there for trustees to consult with parents before voting. She wasn't sure how much traction Davis' idea will have.
"The opportunity is there if they want to (consult)," she said, adding the current system of trustees electing a chair - their leader - has been in place for years.
Catholic parents demand board chair step down
A Catholic parents' group is calling on trustee Angela Kennedy to step down as chair while a conflict of interest case against her and another trustee proceeds through court.
Angela Kennedy, left, and Barbara Poplawski are accused of conflict of interest in a budget debate last year.
A Catholic parents' group is calling on trustee Angela Kennedy to step down as chair while a conflict of interest case against her and another trustee proceeds through court.
The Greater Toronto Catholic Parent Network also says the province must "clean up" the board instead of leaving it up to individuals.
"Instead of doing something, a parent has to go to court," said Murielle Boudreau. "That is wrong. We expect more from the minister of education."
Arnaldo Amaral, a father of two children in elementary school, alleges in court documents that Kennedy and trustee Barbara Poplawski were in a conflict of interest at a May 2008 meeting when they took part in discussions and voted on budget that could affect staffing levels, despite having family members who work for the board.
His court application says Poplawski stood on the sidelines during another vote on layoffs, making "a thumbs down" gesture to colleagues in an attempt to influence their vote.
The allegations have not been proven in court. In a written statement released Wednesday night, Kennedy and Poplawski said they had done nothing wrong and would be vindicated.
Richard Alway, the provincial supervisor in charge of the Toronto Catholic District School Board, said Kennedy has given no indication she'll resign as chair, nor is there any provision that would force her to until the court has ruled.
Kennedy could not be reached for comment.
Earlier this year, a court ousted trustee Oliver Carroll for contravening the conflict of interest act and ordered him to pay almost $50,000 in costs. Despite legal opinions warning him against it because his daughter was a newly hired teacher, Carroll took part in discussions and voted on budget items at that same May 2008 meeting, the court found.
"This (new case) is a delayed fallout from the meeting that we are all aware of that occurred some time ago," Alway said in an interview. "My focus and the focus of the board today is considerably more positive."
Michelle Despault, a spokeswoman for Education Minister Kathleen Wynne, said the province has already done all it can under the Education Act by sending in a supervisor after a series of spending scandals and after trustees failed to balance the board's budget.
New trustee abuse claims shake Catholic board
Two long-time Toronto Catholic trustees, one of them chair of the board, are facing conflict-of-interest allegations less than a year after the former chair was ousted in a similar case.
Angela Kennedy, left, and Barbara Poplawski are accused of conflict of interest in a budget debate last year.
Two long-time Toronto Catholic trustees, one of them chair of the board, are facing conflict-of-interest allegations less than a year after the former chair was ousted in a similar case.
Documents filed in the Superior Court of Justice by ratepayer Arnaldo Amaral accuse Angela Kennedy and Barbara Poplawski of debating and voting on budget motions – which would effectively avert staff layoffs – despite having family employed by the board, the Star has learned.
The application, under the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, has yet to be dealt with in court.
In a statement released last night, Poplawski and Kennedy said they "have served faithfully as trustees" and noted their combined 38 years on the board. They also said they will personally cover all costs of the court action.
It is yet another blow to the beleaguered Toronto Catholic District School Board, which has endured almost two years of revelations of trustee spending abuses, unauthorized benefits and infighting, as well as a failure to balance the budget, the final straw that led the province to swoop in and take power.
Earlier this year, Oliver Carroll was ousted for 10 contraventions of the municipal conflict-of-interest act, including his participation in the budget discussions at the same May 2008 meeting, even though his daughter was a newly hired teacher.
Former trustee Christine Nunziata was removed from the board in February 2008 after missing four meetings in a row, and after it was revealed she billed taxpayers for some lingerie and for her honeymoon in the Dominican Republic, among other unauthorized items.
Some observers have viewed the latest allegations as part of a desire in the larger Catholic community to clean house at the board, as many feel the actions of some trustees have damaged Catholic education. Indeed, parents across the city have called for trustees to resign, as did a former chair of the Toronto Catholic board and Catholic trustees in the Peterborough area after the spending abuses were revealed.
Kennedy, first elected in 2000, was named chair less than three months ago; she represents a ward that encompasses the Beaches and East York, up to Highway 401. In May 2008, one of her sons was working as a high school teacher on a long-term contract.
Poplawski, a 30-year veteran, represents an area including High Park/Bloor West Village. Her daughter is an education assistant.
Minutes from the May 14, 2008, meeting indicate trustees Catherine LeBlanc-Miller, Kennedy, Poplawski, and Carroll all declared conflicts on a budget item labelled "12b" because their children were employees of the board.
The minutes also show that later in the meeting Carroll moved a motion, seconded by Poplawski, accepting item 12b, which proposed the board adopt a budget with a $5.2 million debt. While not explicitly stated, such a move would mean no cuts to programs nor any layoffs.
Later on, Kennedy moved an amendment, seconded by Poplawski, that the board "adopt a budget that is balanced with the exception of the $5.2 million area of the deficit and that staff and the chair work with the minister (of education) to accommodate the $5.2 million debt."
It carried, with Poplawski and Kennedy voting in favour, the minutes say. The minutes also indicate LeBlanc-Miller did not participate.
None of the four trustees who had declared a conflict voted on an amendment asking that no layoff notices be sent out, saving programs like full-day kindergarten.
Rumours of court action against Kennedy and Poplawski have swirled since Carroll's conviction, for which he was ordered to pay almost $50,000 in costs.
Kennedy was voted chair of the board by a majority of trustees earlier this year, although the provincial supervisor at the time refused to give her the position.
This August, Kennedy was announced as chair by Education Minister Kathleen Wynne.
Michelle Despault, Wynne's spokesperson, said she couldn't comment on anything before the courts. She added that Kennedy was chosen as chair by fellow trustees and installed under a process implemented by the provincial supervisor.
It is not clear if the court action affects Kennedy's status as chair.
In their written statement, Kennedy and Poplawski said: "We commit ourselves to continue to serve our constituents while this matter is pursued. We have confidence that our actions will be vindicated."
*************************************************************************
Did you hear about the occasional teacher with Toronto Catholic who was stuck in daily substitute teaching and he had to declare bankruptcy because he couldn't keep up with his debts while earning only $35,000 a year? Did you hear he owed his mother money because he needed help with car loans but she died of cancer before he could pay her back because he was stuck in daily substitute teaching while the daughter of a school secretary who had one month of experience as a daily substitute teacher got three unadvertised contract jobs, two at the school where her mother was the secretary, two were in the intermediate division and she didn't have intermediate qualifications, but he did, and three years of experience at that level, and his local said that's the way it is with this board, there's nothing we can do, but they kept taking dues out of his pay? Did you hear two contracts were in a French Immersion school and she told him to his face that she didn't speak French and she told him to leave his name and number with the school secretary who was her mother? After the three unadvertised contract positions she got full-time, permanent and the union told an occasional teacher who complained about it, "There's nothing we can do, that's the way it is with this board."
Did you hear about the substitute teacher who requested an independent audit of the boards hiring policy going back ten years, in writing, twice, to the board of trustees, but they ignored them? He requested it because of all the rumours about the two sons of a trustee who got full-time, permanent teaching positions right out of teachers college, and the son and daughter of a superintendent who got full-time, permanent teaching positions right out of teachers college while hundreds of experienced occasional teachers who had several additional qualifications didn't even get an interview? And the union didn't put in any grievances, which smells pretty awful?
Did you hear about the two daughters of two principals who were hired to Toronto Catholic into full-time, permanent teaching positions right out of teachers with no experience while hundreds of experienced occasional teachers who did not have relatives with the board didn't even get an interview? And their union, OECTA and their local, TOTL, said there's nothing they could do, and they didn't file any grievances?
Did you hear about the young man who graduated from teacher's college, he got three unadvertised contract positions, two he wasn't qualified for, the third he was and he is the son of a Catholic elementary school secretary?
Did you hear about the young woman who has been stuck in daily substitute teaching with Toronto Catholic for 10 years but she doesn't have any relatives with the board and the union hasn't helped her?
Did you hear about the young woman who told an experienced occasional teacher with Toronto Catholic that she got three consecutive unadvertised contract positions in an elementary school in the west end where she had done her student teaching?
Did you hear about the occasional teacher who got an unsatisfactory appraisal from a principal who told him to make sure all of his students got passing marks after he told the principal half of them were going to get failing marks because they wouldn't stop yelling and bullying and do any work? The principal yelled at him that he had to sign the appraisal then he asked his local for help with it and one rep said no, you signed it, can't help you, but the executive assistant for collective bargaining said no, your signature only means you acknowledge you received it, but the local still hasn't done anything about it and he thinks it's because he keeps telling everyone about how they hire family at Toronto Catholic and how the union does nothing probably because they have a deal of jobs for family.
(Nice video on the Globe and Mail by the way).
Did you hear about the manager for recruitment with Toronto Catholic who mailed letters to occasional teachers telling them they had been placed on an eligible to hire list but after seven years of this the superintendent of human resources announces there is no eligible to hire list and the president of the local for occasional teachers announces it on his newsletter and tells everyone to stop asking about it and they take no formal action?
Did you hear about an occasional teacher who wasn't told he had bus duty but the principal writes him up for missing it under one of the toughest clauses possible, it goes to a hearing, the superintendent sides with the occasional teacher over the principal because it is the secretary's and principal's responsibility to tell the occasional teacher about the duties, the occasional teacher asks the president of the local to get that reprimand off of his record but the president of the local, who is still the president of the local for occasional teachers, refuses because he disagrees with the superintendents decision and he says it is the fault of the occasional teacher, who hasn't had a contract position since? Nice board and union, huh?
Did you hear about the occasional teachers with Toronto Catholic who were having a lot of trouble getting LTO's, (long-term, occasional contracts) so they met with the manager of recruitment. She told them that if they got French qualifications, (FSL 1), she would steer several LTO's their way. They got FSL 1 and told her and they waited and they waited and they waited, no call. They applied to another board and were hired soon after as substitute teachers to French Immersion and after a year were made full-time, permanent. They had no relatives with Toronto Catholic. They are really angry over the years wasted at Toronto Catholic.
Did you hear about the big new contract that was supposed to make everything right for occasional teachers who didn't have family connections in the right places called the Memorandum of Understanding, (M.o.U.), with regulation 274/12 in it that required hiring for contract positions to be based on experience and qualifications, but it turns out that the province gave the school boards one year in the two-year contract to interview occasional teachers and to put them onto a roster, and that allowed the boards to fill positions in their usual way, (see details above), for another year, and then several experienced occasional teachers who had completed contracts and had been given strong appraisals didn't get onto the LTO Roster? Did you hear about the occasional teacher with Toronto Catholic who was so tired of all of the stories about unfair hiring at Toronto Catholic that he asked the minister of education for an investigation into hiring in the board going back ten years under section 230 of the Education Act of Ontario, she pawned the request off onto a civil service who sent him a letter telling him that the MOU and regulation 274/12 were going to clean up all of the hiring in boards in Ontario and then a few months later the minister admits in an interview with the Ottawa Citizen that the school boards aren't following the MOU and all she does about it is table a new bill outlining the role of the different groups in collective bargaining and all of this nonsense is seen as evidence of a quid pro quo between teachers, school boards, and the Liberal Party of Ontario?
Did you hear about the member's of the Catholic Trustee's Association of Ontario who refused to sign the two-year MOU because regulation 274/12 might allow dangerous occasional teachers into the classroom in LTO's, (who are in the classroom almost every day as daily substitutes), who offer experience and qualifications, unlike their many family members who just graduated who they have been hiring, then the province twists their arms and they sign it but almost immediately start fighting the MOU in court with your tax dollars because they just can't stand the idea of being forced to hire experienced, qualified teachers into contract positions for an entire school year for the second year of the MOU? By the way, you'll probably never get access to that information about legal bills fighting a contract that they signed since employment information is covered by the Privacy Act and public institutions don't have to disclose that information.
Gee, why am I posting these articles? Comments?
Brian Cross
Aug 13, 2012 - 5:33 PM EST
Barbara Holland, the chairwoman of the Catholic board, did not return telephone messages on Monday.
The board is currently under the microscope of an investigator appointed last month by Broten to examine its troubled finances and report back by Aug. 24.
In an Aug. 4 “highly confidential” memo written to the chairs of Ontario’s Catholic boards, Holland said that once Broten has the report, “we are bracing for an immediate announcement that supervision (a provincially appointed supervisor taking control of the board) will occur.”
She claims the appointment of an investigator is a “retaliatory measure and an effort to stifle honest discussion and debate,” after the board expressed concerns about the MOU and filed for conciliation, a move seen by OECTA as an end-run around the provincial deal, which calls for a two-year wage freeze, three unpaid professional development days and reduced sick days which can’t be banked.
Broten said that refusing to accept the MOU will cost the board more than $900,000 in salary increases. “It’s hard to believe that would not take money away from the classroom,” the minister said.
She wouldn’t prejudge the investigator’s report, but added: “These are very serious financial concerns we have,” stressing the Windsor board hasn’t balanced its budget for five of the last six years and is the only one in the province that’s running an accumulated deficit.
In Holland’s memo, which was obtained by OECTA’s Anderson and forwarded to The Star, Holland asks other boards to file for conciliation. She said the Windsor board’s issues with the MOU are non-monetary. Anderson said these non-monetary complaints have to do with the fair hiring policy and giving teachers more flexibility in making student assessments.
The fair hiring policy requires the board select five qualified candidates from the occasional teachers who apply and select who’s best. O’Dwyer said they would be five people the board has already hired. “Some employers are saying ‘it will change our ability to put the best teacher in front of students.’ No it doesn’t,” the OECTA president said.
“I don’t know how anyone can be opposed to a fair hiring policy, it just astounds me,” he said.
TONY BOCK / TORONTO STAR Order this photo
Toronto's Catholic trustees will pay back every penny of the almost $30,000 in questionable or ineligible expenses cited in a damning forensic audit, Ontario's education minister said yesterday after turning the report over to Toronto police.
Did you hear about the occasional teacher with Toronto Catholic who was stuck in daily substitute teaching and he had to declare bankruptcy because he couldn't keep up with his debts while earning only $35,000 a year? Did you hear he owed his mother money because he needed help with car loans but she died of cancer before he could pay her back because he was stuck in daily substitute teaching while the daughter of a school secretary who had one month of experience as a daily substitute teacher got three unadvertised contract jobs, two at the school where her mother was the secretary, two were in the intermediate division and she didn't have intermediate qualifications, but he did, and three years of experience at that level, and his local said that's the way it is with this board, there's nothing we can do, but they kept taking dues out of his pay? Did you hear two contracts were in a French Immersion school and she told him to his face that she didn't speak French and she told him to leave his name and number with the school secretary who was her mother? After the three unadvertised contract positions she got full-time, permanent and the union told an occasional teacher who complained about it, "There's nothing we can do, that's the way it is with this board."
Did you hear about the substitute teacher who requested an independent audit of the boards hiring policy going back ten years, in writing, twice, to the board of trustees, but they ignored them? He requested it because of all the rumours about the two sons of a trustee who got full-time, permanent teaching positions right out of teachers college, and the son and daughter of a superintendent who got full-time, permanent teaching positions right out of teachers college while hundreds of experienced occasional teachers who had several additional qualifications didn't even get an interview? And the union didn't put in any grievances, which smells pretty awful?
Did you hear about the two daughters of two principals who were hired to Toronto Catholic into full-time, permanent teaching positions right out of teachers with no experience while hundreds of experienced occasional teachers who did not have relatives with the board didn't even get an interview? And their union, OECTA and their local, TOTL, said there's nothing they could do, and they didn't file any grievances?
Did you hear about the young man who graduated from teacher's college, he got three unadvertised contract positions, two he wasn't qualified for, the third he was and he is the son of a Catholic elementary school secretary?
Did you hear about the young woman who has been stuck in daily substitute teaching with Toronto Catholic for 10 years but she doesn't have any relatives with the board and the union hasn't helped her?
Did you hear about the young woman who told an experienced occasional teacher with Toronto Catholic that she got three consecutive unadvertised contract positions in an elementary school in the west end where she had done her student teaching?
Did you hear about the occasional teacher who got an unsatisfactory appraisal from a principal who told him to make sure all of his students got passing marks after he told the principal half of them were going to get failing marks because they wouldn't stop yelling and bullying and do any work? The principal yelled at him that he had to sign the appraisal then he asked his local for help with it and one rep said no, you signed it, can't help you, but the executive assistant for collective bargaining said no, your signature only means you acknowledge you received it, but the local still hasn't done anything about it and he thinks it's because he keeps telling everyone about how they hire family at Toronto Catholic and how the union does nothing probably because they have a deal of jobs for family.
(Nice video on the Globe and Mail by the way).
Did you hear about the manager for recruitment with Toronto Catholic who mailed letters to occasional teachers telling them they had been placed on an eligible to hire list but after seven years of this the superintendent of human resources announces there is no eligible to hire list and the president of the local for occasional teachers announces it on his newsletter and tells everyone to stop asking about it and they take no formal action?
Did you hear about an occasional teacher who wasn't told he had bus duty but the principal writes him up for missing it under one of the toughest clauses possible, it goes to a hearing, the superintendent sides with the occasional teacher over the principal because it is the secretary's and principal's responsibility to tell the occasional teacher about the duties, the occasional teacher asks the president of the local to get that reprimand off of his record but the president of the local, who is still the president of the local for occasional teachers, refuses because he disagrees with the superintendents decision and he says it is the fault of the occasional teacher, who hasn't had a contract position since? Nice board and union, huh?
Did you hear about the occasional teachers with Toronto Catholic who were having a lot of trouble getting LTO's, (long-term, occasional contracts) so they met with the manager of recruitment. She told them that if they got French qualifications, (FSL 1), she would steer several LTO's their way. They got FSL 1 and told her and they waited and they waited and they waited, no call. They applied to another board and were hired soon after as substitute teachers to French Immersion and after a year were made full-time, permanent. They had no relatives with Toronto Catholic. They are really angry over the years wasted at Toronto Catholic.
Did you hear about the big new contract that was supposed to make everything right for occasional teachers who didn't have family connections in the right places called the Memorandum of Understanding, (M.o.U.), with regulation 274/12 in it that required hiring for contract positions to be based on experience and qualifications, but it turns out that the province gave the school boards one year in the two-year contract to interview occasional teachers and to put them onto a roster, and that allowed the boards to fill positions in their usual way, (see details above), for another year, and then several experienced occasional teachers who had completed contracts and had been given strong appraisals didn't get onto the LTO Roster? Did you hear about the occasional teacher with Toronto Catholic who was so tired of all of the stories about unfair hiring at Toronto Catholic that he asked the minister of education for an investigation into hiring in the board going back ten years under section 230 of the Education Act of Ontario, she pawned the request off onto a civil service who sent him a letter telling him that the MOU and regulation 274/12 were going to clean up all of the hiring in boards in Ontario and then a few months later the minister admits in an interview with the Ottawa Citizen that the school boards aren't following the MOU and all she does about it is table a new bill outlining the role of the different groups in collective bargaining and all of this nonsense is seen as evidence of a quid pro quo between teachers, school boards, and the Liberal Party of Ontario?
Did you hear about the member's of the Catholic Trustee's Association of Ontario who refused to sign the two-year MOU because regulation 274/12 might allow dangerous occasional teachers into the classroom in LTO's, (who are in the classroom almost every day as daily substitutes), who offer experience and qualifications, unlike their many family members who just graduated who they have been hiring, then the province twists their arms and they sign it but almost immediately start fighting the MOU in court with your tax dollars because they just can't stand the idea of being forced to hire experienced, qualified teachers into contract positions for an entire school year for the second year of the MOU? By the way, you'll probably never get access to that information about legal bills fighting a contract that they signed since employment information is covered by the Privacy Act and public institutions don't have to disclose that information.
Gee, why am I posting these articles? Comments?
Catholic board nepotism cited by teacher union reps
Paul Picard, director of education for the Windsor-Essex Catholic School Board speaks to the media in this 2012 file photo. (DAN JANISSE/The Windsor Star)
Brian Cross
Aug 13, 2012 - 5:33 PM EST
Last Updated: Aug 14, 2012 - 6:56 AM EST
The “very rampant” hiring of relatives at the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board is one reason for a new province-wide Fair Hiring regulation announced Monday by Education Minister Laurel Broten, local teacher union reps say.
The “very rampant” hiring of relatives at the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board is one reason for a new province-wide Fair Hiring regulation announced Monday by Education Minister Laurel Broten, local teacher union reps say.
On the heels of Windsor Star reports last year of the school board’s family connections – four of nine trustees are handcuffed by conflict of interest rules because they have children who work as teachers and education director Paul Picard has a brother and sister at the board – local reps “expressed concerns” to their provincial union leaders headed into bargaining with the province. What resulted is the memorandum of understanding between Ontario and the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association that the province is hoping to use as a pattern for all teacher unions. The MOU includes a Fair Hiring provision which Broten is now applying as a regulation. It makes the hiring of teachers a more transparent and fair process for occasional teachers who’ve tried for years to get hired permanently, the union reps say.
"What we were saying is, people with absolutely no experience were getting hired right out of teacher’s college. Those ones usually have names attached to them, if you understand what I’m saying,” Al Anderson, the OECTA president for the Windsor-Essex district, said Monday. He said nepotism had become “very rampant” in Windsor, with “quite a lot of the principals and vice-principals having family members working for the board.”
When asked if nepotism complaints about the Windsor Catholic board led to the Fair Hiring provision, Broten said she wouldn’t speak about the conversations that happened at the bargaining table.
“But issues with respect to the lack of transparency and the lack of openness and the lack of clarity on hiring practices is something I have heard about in my conversations across the province,” the minister said in an interview. “And it is something that caused me very great concern.”
OECTA president Kevin O’Dwyer said he can’t say it was only Windsor that was responsible for the new regulation. “There were other areas that brought it up,” he said. “Members were saying ‘Listen, it doesn’t look right, can you do something about this?’”
Michael-John Knoblauch, president of the local representing about 400 occasional elementary teachers at the Windsor-Essex Catholic board, said some of his members have been waiting 10 years for a permanent position. There’s a provision that calls for two-thirds of new hires to come from the occasional teacher ranks, but for the remaining third, the occasionals usually don’t have a chance, he said.
“You can put the dots together and figure out why they were hired,” he said of the relatives. “We’ve had a lot of members waiting for full-time jobs but are constantly being overlooked because these new grads from the faculty of education, who might have the right DNA, are getting these jobs.”Barbara Holland, the chairwoman of the Catholic board, did not return telephone messages on Monday.
The board is currently under the microscope of an investigator appointed last month by Broten to examine its troubled finances and report back by Aug. 24.
In an Aug. 4 “highly confidential” memo written to the chairs of Ontario’s Catholic boards, Holland said that once Broten has the report, “we are bracing for an immediate announcement that supervision (a provincially appointed supervisor taking control of the board) will occur.”
She claims the appointment of an investigator is a “retaliatory measure and an effort to stifle honest discussion and debate,” after the board expressed concerns about the MOU and filed for conciliation, a move seen by OECTA as an end-run around the provincial deal, which calls for a two-year wage freeze, three unpaid professional development days and reduced sick days which can’t be banked.
Broten said that refusing to accept the MOU will cost the board more than $900,000 in salary increases. “It’s hard to believe that would not take money away from the classroom,” the minister said.
She wouldn’t prejudge the investigator’s report, but added: “These are very serious financial concerns we have,” stressing the Windsor board hasn’t balanced its budget for five of the last six years and is the only one in the province that’s running an accumulated deficit.
In Holland’s memo, which was obtained by OECTA’s Anderson and forwarded to The Star, Holland asks other boards to file for conciliation. She said the Windsor board’s issues with the MOU are non-monetary. Anderson said these non-monetary complaints have to do with the fair hiring policy and giving teachers more flexibility in making student assessments.
The fair hiring policy requires the board select five qualified candidates from the occasional teachers who apply and select who’s best. O’Dwyer said they would be five people the board has already hired. “Some employers are saying ‘it will change our ability to put the best teacher in front of students.’ No it doesn’t,” the OECTA president said.
“I don’t know how anyone can be opposed to a fair hiring policy, it just astounds me,” he said.
Trustee scandal widens
Toronto's Catholic trustees will pay back every penny of the almost $30,000 in questionable or ineligible expenses cited in a damning forensic audit, Ontario's education minister said yesterday after turning the report over to Toronto police.
At a meeting on Nov. 13, 2008, trustee Maria Rizzo said auditors' report will allow the board to re-focus on education.
Toronto's Catholic trustees will pay back every penny of the almost $30,000 in questionable or ineligible expenses cited in a damning forensic audit, Ontario's education minister said yesterday after turning the report over to Toronto police.
Once police have wrapped up their investigation, "any unpaid amounts we are going to recoup through a reduction in trustee honoraria," Wynne said.
Three per cent of total spending since late 2003 was deemed questionable by auditors. While most trustees have already repaid about $10,000 of ineligible expenses, almost $20,000 in "potentially ineligible" expenses are outstanding. Such expenses did not have sufficient documentation, if any.
Although not named in the report, the Star was able to match trustees by their expenses, which are posted online. Mary Cicogna, Joseph Martino and Sal Piccininni racked up a total of $4,244 in expenses they weren't entitled to, and another $18,857 in "potentially ineligible" expenses.
Martino paid back all of $1,783 he received for ineligible expenses, including tax software, dry cleaning, shoe repair and car washes, and said he would be prepared to repay what he believes is $330 more in Highway 407 tolls and several meals outside Toronto. But he said he does not owe $2,113 in "potentially ineligible" fees and that the chart in the report might be misleading.
"If the minister feels we should pay back those questionable items, well, that's fine," he said in an interview last night. "Why spend more time and energy on this? She should just take it from our honorarium if that's what she believes and we can carry on to the point where people are satisfied all trustees have paid everything back."
Piccininni did not return calls yesterday but last week told the Star he had already repaid "clerical-error kind of stuff."
Cicogna has repaid $373 for charging taxpayers for Internet gaming, luggage and a car wash as well as duplicate claims, but refused the remaining $918 for a gold school-board ring, sun lamp and personalized licence plates because she "disagrees with our assessment of the expenses," the report, by auditors Ernst and Young, states.
However, she told the Star last night in an email that she had informed the auditor and director of education that she would return the items in question. "Unfortunately, it does not specify that in the auditor's report," she wrote.
Board Chair Catherine LeBlanc-Miller, who repaid $775 and apologized for the "negative impact" this has had on the Toronto Catholic District School Board, said she was pleased the report "concludes that 97 per cent of the expenses under review were eligible."
In September, stricter spending guidelines were implemented, with invoices going directly to the director of education – guidelines that will save the Catholic board several hundred thousand dollars a year.
"I'm embarrassed for our Catholic ratepayers who had to go through all of this," Trustee Barbara Poplawski said last night. "But at this point we have a wonderful new policy in place – clear and transparent, probably the best in the province – that will ensure this won't happen again."
Trustee Maria Rizzo said this will allow the board to move on and focus on educating its students.
Wynne ordered the forensic audit after Norbert Hartmann, who has since been sent in to take financial control of the board from trustees, found the 12 trustees to be among the biggest spenders in the province with many duplicate billings.
Allegations of misspending by former trustee Christine Nunziata – she charged taxpayers for lingerie and Dairy Queen treats – set off the chain of events last January. She was later removed from the board for missing too many meetings, and could not be included in the audit.
Progressive Conservative MPP Joyce Savoline (Burlington) complained the audit was "incomplete" due to the omission. "To have done the report without including Christine Nunziata is ludicrous, whether she was a trustee or not when they were doing the report," she said.
"Parents aren't going to buy this," added Murielle Boudreau of the Greater Toronto Catholic Parent Network. "They're already so angered now ... The only silver lining is that it's been sent to police."
Ernst and Young auditors spent months poring over 5,000 documents, and interviewing trustees and staff about a total of $943,784 in trustee expense claims from December 2003 to May of this year.
Wynne said individuals weren't named because "it's not about shaming trustees."
Former board chair Oliver Carroll said although he believes Wynne had little choice but to turn the report over to police "just to be sure," he would "find it hard to believe any trustee would have set out to deliberately defraud the public."
Toronto police, contacted by the Star, declined to comment on the report or potential charges.
Carroll had come under fire for billing half the $14,000 tuition for a master's degree in education administration. But yesterday's audit did not find that this violated the board's rules at the time, although the new policy wouldn't allow it.
Wynne called the episode "a cautionary tale" for school boards. "We're not going to tolerate anything that undermines confidence in the public education system."
With files from Louise Brown, Robert Benzie and Raveena Aulakh
