Halton Catholic school board under fire for $40K in international travel spending

Halton Catholic District School Board (HCDSB) has joined a growing list of school boards under fire for expensive spending on international trips.

In April, school trustees approved thousands of dollars for trips to Brazil, Germany, Italy and Dubai.

As first reported by CBC Hamilton, HCDSB budgeted over $40,000 for these trips, which were intended for the superintendent to attend conferences aimed at recruiting international students.

HCDSB Superintendent Anthony Cordeiro spoke in April about the rationale behind attending recruitment conferences overseas.

“Without attending recruitment fairs or engaging in online or virtual spaces, there is no signing of contracts,” Cordeiro said.

The meeting revealed that Cordeiro attended an education fair in Brazil last winter. He also traveled to conferences in Italy this past September, with planned trips to Germany this month and Dubai in the new year.

A report indicated that the projected costs for the trips to Italy, Germany, and Dubai were around $29,000, covering airfare, accommodations and other incidentals.

CHCH News reached out to the school board Wednesday to ask whether the travel expenses stayed on budget and how many international students were recruited as a result of these trips. We are still awaiting a response.

One HCDSB trustee has questioned the return on investment tied to these recruitment efforts.

“Anecdotally, I have been hearing from staff in the system that we do have a budget freeze…We do see these lavish locations being presented from travelling for senior staff,” Brenda Agnew said in April.

This follows the saga in Brantford, where trustees spent nearly $50,000 for a trip to Italy and Germany, and bought more than $100,000 worth of art.

Ontario’s Education Minister Jill Dunlop said last week that they will begin to audit school boards and their spending. CHCH News contacted Dunlop’s office about HCDSB and is also waiting to hear back.

READ MORE: Brantford-area teachers’ union calls for trustees to resign after Italy trip backlash