A visit earlier this yr by workers with the Lambton Kent District Faculty Board has prompted an audit of college boards throughout Ontario.
Premier Doug Ford discovered of the January journey to Hawaii by LKDSB workers to attend an Worldwide Convention on Training in a CBC article. He mentioned the federal government is now calling for an audit of discretionary spending in any respect public and Catholic college boards.
Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey mentioned the LKDSB journey was the most recent in a collection of discoveries surrounding questionable spending at Ontario college boards, and the premier has had sufficient.
“He is requested the Minister of Training Jill Dunlop for an audit on all discretionary spending as a result of this is not the primary one,” mentioned Bailey. “We did not need to centre out Lambton-Kent however there’s no less than 4 different boards throughout the province which have finished questionable spending on these journeys. He is asking them to come back ahead, and if there’s another questionable spending to inform him about it.”
When contacted by Sarnia Information At present in September about latest worldwide journeys, the board mentioned the Hawaii convention aligned with the Board Motion Plan priorities, particularly Indigenous language revitalization, and was authorised by the Indigenous Liaison Committee and met a particular function.
The board mentioned 4 employees members attended, three unionized and the LKDSB Indigenous Lead, nevertheless particulars surrounding the price of the journey weren’t disclosed.
Bailey mentioned it is disappointing.
“The funding needs to be going to the lecture rooms, to the scholars and to the academics,” he mentioned. “Particularly with this journey to Hawaii. It is my understanding that the identical factor may have been finished on-line proper right here in Ontario, in Canada, with out having to depart the nation. That is what the actual drawback is and the actual query.”
The general public college board additionally confirmed six unionized employees attended a convention in Las Vegas in Might of 2023.
It mentioned the convention associated to implementation of Final result Based mostly Evaluation being carried out in all Grade 9 and 10 lessons and met a particular want.
Bills for the journey had been coated by Secondary and Pupil Success skilled improvement budgets.
There are over 21,700 college students that attend colleges below the Lambton Kent District Faculty board in Sarnia-Lambton and Chatham-Kent.
