Ontario school board trustees under fire for $100K religious art purchase on Italy trip

Trustees with an Ontario school board are responding to criticism over a $45,000 trip to Italy, where they purchased more than $100,000 worth of religious statues and a large crucifix for two new Catholic schools.

Rick Petrella, chair for the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board, said trustees acquired a statue of St. Padre Pio, a statue of the Virgin Mary, sculptures depicting the 14 Stations of the Cross and commissioned a large crucifix for St. Padre Pio Catholic Secondary School in Brantford, Ont. They also purchased a bust of Pope Francis for the yet-to-be-built Pope Francis Catholic Elementary School in Caledonia, Ont.

The future site of St. Padre Pio Catholic Secondary School in Brantford, Ont.

Petrella explained, in an email to CTV News, the money for the statues will be coming from the school board’s budget surplus. Now, they’re also looking at other fundraising avenues to help offset the cost.

The trustees’ travel expenses, he added, came from the trustee honoraria and expense budget.

“My first thoughts were, you know, this seemed like a needless expense,” said Carlo Fortino, president of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association. “I can understand wanting to get artwork to enhance the Catholicity for a new school but it didn’t require four trustees to travel to Italy to do that.”

The Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board on Oct. 17, 2024.

Petrella, who has been on the school board for 10 terms, understands the criticism.

In a statement to CTV News, he said: “The board of trustees wishes to express regret regarding the events related to the trip to Italy this summer. We recognize that the optics and actions of this trip were not favorable [sic], and although it was undertaken in good faith to promote our Catholic identity and to do something special for our two new schools, we acknowledge that it was not the best course of action.”

It went on to say: “We take responsibility and ownership for this and are committed to addressing and remedying the situation. Each trustee, including myself, who participated in the trip has agreed to repay all the expenses incurred to the board.”

Some feel the money should have been used elsewhere.

“How much of that money could have been spent in a better way and to support student needs?” asked Fortino. “There’s situations where a kindergarten class is difficult to manage, we could hire another ECE with that money. We have a mental health crisis, in some ways a behavioural crisis right now, post COVID. We could use the support of more EAs (educational assistants).”

Response from the ministry

CTV News also reached out to get reaction from Jill Dunlop, the minister of education

Her office shared the following statement: "Our government increased public education funding to historic levels to support student achievement and better equip teachers in the classrooms, not to expense trips on public dollars by school board staff. In this instance, the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board (BHNCDSB) not only failed students and parents but the community with a serious lack of fiscal responsibility and judgement. School boards are expected to be responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars, whether in a deficit or surplus situation. I take this issue seriously and I have asked my ministry to explore all options available to investigate this matter."

One of the sculptures purchased by the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board.

What’s next?

Petrella promised school board trustees will take action.

“We have heard the concerns of our parents, students, staff and stakeholders, and we recognize the need to further invest in our system,” he said. “As a result, we have decided to allocate additional funds forthwith to support student needs.”

According to the board chair, that will include “enhancing health and safety de-escalation training for teaching and support staff, providing additional resources and staffing for our safe and healthy schools program, and improvements to our school breakfast programs in the district.”

Petrella did not share where those funds would come from.

He added that trustees will be reviewing their expense policies at their “earliest opportunity.”

“I appreciate the apology and the idea of them paying it back,” said Fortino. “To be quite honest, it’s the least they can do.”

But he questions their decision to take the trip in the first place.

“There are bigger priorities right now than a statue in a school.”