Trustees with the Toronto Catholic District School Board came under fire Wednesday night by parents who were upset over what they say are exorbitant personal expense accounts.
A board committee has recommended 21 changes to make expense accounts more accountable and less prone to misuse. The changes are also meant to ease some of the board's financial burden.
Among the recommendations:
- Individual expense accounts for trustees to be reduced to $15,000 from 18,000
- Trustees will have to submit mileage reports to be reimbursed for their car use
- Detailed expense reports to be posted online for public transparency
- Equipment purchased by the trustee for their job remains TCDSB property
A recent report showed that trustees spent about $1 million on a variety of expenses ranging from late-night dinners with alcohol to an $8,600 car allowance.
The board spends more money than any other school board in Ontario.
One parent said the trustees should resign from their elected positions.
"They've lost the confidence of the people," he said. "How can these people legitimately sit down with the Ministry of Education and say they have needs?"
However, another parent who attended the board meeting said the trustees work hard and should be given a break.
"There are a lot of important issues that these trustees deal with that are really meaningful to parents and to our kids who are in the system," a mother said.
"None of that is being recognized here. Let's not punish all these people and the good work that some of them do."
