While a provincial investigator has slammed Toronto Catholic School Board trustees for profligate spending, trustees of Peel's school boards are listed in his report as being among the lowest-spending in the province.
In a report released yesterday, Norbert Hartmann revealed a culture of entitlement among trustees of the Toronto Catholic Board, some of whom double-billed for restaurant bills, hired relatives and enjoyed inflated car allowances.
The Toronto Catholic Board spent about $100,000 in expenses per trustee in comparison with just $27,000 at the Dufferin-Peel board, which includes a salary of  $19,232.
Education Minister Kathleen Wynne said in the wake of the report that, "I have no tolerance and the government has no tolerance for public dollars being used in inappropriate ways."
In his report Hartmann, who served as supervisor at the Dufferin-Peel Board for a year when the government suspended trustees' financial control in a dispute about budget spending, compared the expenses of many Ontario boards on the basis of money spent per pupil on trustee expenses.
The Toronto Catholic board spent $14.94 per pupil on expenses of elected officials.
In contrast, the Peel Public Board spent $3.72 and Dufferin-Peel, $3.62. The York Region Catholic Board spent $8.99, Toronto Public, $6.04, Ottawa-Carleton public $5.74 and Thames Valley Public in London, $4.02.
jstewart@mississauga.net