The level of spending abuse among Toronto Catholic School trustees is absolutely astonishing! The pay for trustees in Ontario is:

• Toronto Catholic School trustees - $100,000 per trustee
• Toronto Public School trustees - $67,000
• Dufferin-Peel Catholic Board trustees - $27,000

The $100,000 is not salary. The salary is actually only $18,671 per year. But, they get a whopping $80,000 in services and benefits that include:

• Discretionary fund - $18,000
• Car Allowance - $8,600
• Technology Expenses - $3,800 for cell phones, Internet connectivity, and printers

Provincial adviser Norbert Hartmann released a report last week called “Enhancing Public Trust and Confidence” that showed a level of abuse that boggles the mind:

• Since 2003, trustees have transferred $200,000 of taxpayer money from discretionary funds into school causes of their choice, creating the appearance of a “political slush fund.”
• They approved a policy allowing them to keep BlackBerrys, computers, shredders, digital cameras, and office furniture when they leave office.
• Annual hospitality expenses were $15,000 to $27,000 without appropriate documentation.
• One trustee got 10 duplicate payments in a year by submitting restaurant and credit card receipts separately.
• One trustee expensed $7,577 tuition for a masters of education degree.
• Trustees paid themselves rent for use of office space in their own homes.
• Ward 6 trustee Christine Nunziata, who resigned after missing three consecutive meetings, filed expense claims for clothing and a vacation to the Dominican Republic.
• Research and consulting contracts were given to relatives of trustees.

Based on his findings Norbert Hartmann recommends:

• Revoking the $8,600 car allowance
• Ending medical, dental, and life insurance coverage
• Forcing trustees to return all equipment at the end of their terms
• Prohibiting trustees from hiring relatives
• Removing the trustees’ ability to transfer discretionary funds to community, school, and charitable groups.

The board has until June 30 to submit amended policies to the education ministry. Starting this month all trustee will have to post their expenses online. I want to know if there will be any ramifications from these years of lavish spending. It can’t have been legal, can it?