York school board releases reports on trips to Europe

Observers say they fall short on transparency, justification for taxpayer-funded travel

After months of public pressure and scrutiny, the York Region District School Board has released two reports describing the “learning” that took place when staff and trustees went to Europe on taxpayer-funded trips last fall.

The reports, posted on the board website under “jurisdictional learning,” are part of the disclosure the board promised to the Ministry of Education in January, after concerns were raised by the ministry about the board’s lack of transparency around foreign travel.

The reports, posted months after the trips, offer some rationale for the travel to “high-performing jurisdictions” of the Netherlands and Finland. But, observers say, the reports fall short on both transparency and making the case for why the travel was necessary in the first place.

“There is a lot of information that is missing: who went where, and how much it cost,” said parent Todd Silverman, who has long been a critic of travel at the board. “It looks like they are rushing to meet their mandate for the province . . . but it’s not really thought out.”

The board is now under investigation by the ministry over concerns around its handling of racism, discrimination and trustee travel.

In a letter sent to the province in January, trustees pledged to improve transparency around travel and to create a web page to “highlight our most recent learnings.”

The first report details the trip to Finland last September to mark a 10-year partnership with the city of Espoo. According to the report, three trustees and five senior staff travelled at a cost of about $2,600 per person. The report gives general descriptions of what staff observed in local schools in the areas of math, mental health and modern learning.

The trip to the Netherlands in September doesn’t specify who travelled as part of “an exploratory learning opportunity” with a focus on “advancing student achievement and well-being.”

Among things highlighted in the report is a picture of a “quiet room that was available for students ... throughout the day. The space was designed for the purpose of supporting student well-being.” The Star obtained documents about the travel under Access to Information legislation. The documents are heavily redacted for “privacy,” but fill in some of the information left out of the board’s reports:

The total cost of the seven-day trip to Finland was $21,500 and included a “formal dinner” to celebrate the “10-year anniversary of co-operation,” according to the expenses and itinerary obtained by the Star.

In September, director J. Philip Parappally travelled to Zwolle, in the Netherlands, with then-chair Anna DeBartolo and Wanda Muirhead, the board’s superintendent of business and finance, for a “professional learning session.” The six-day trip cost taxpayers $8,620, according to documents.

Charles Pascal, a former Ontario deputy minister of education, says the “reports read like an after-thefact justification of their travels.

“Why didn’t they provide the upfront board requests for these trips to the minister months ago?” said Pascal, now an education professor at the University of Toronto. “They should have provided detail including why they couldn’t learn from ex- perts in Toronto about these two jurisdictions. If there was no documented request to the board for these trips, that’s a problem.”

Parappally, who didn’t answer questions as to why information was not shared prior to departure, said the experience of going to the Netherlands was valuable.

“Seeing the benefits to students of a focus on well-being was educational and helpful. Afterwards, we put a detailed presentation online — and I gave a full debrief to a committee of staff members and trustees, as well,” he said in an email. “The main objective in benchmarking ourselves with other jurisdictions is learning things that can help our students.”

But Markham trustee Susan Geller, who has been a vocal critic of travel, said it’s been hard to get answers.

“I’m not comfortable this was done months and months later,” she said. “I was never given answers as to who went where and what we did there when I asked back in the fall.”

According to board policy, trustees are allocated $8,490 for the four-year term that they can use to participate in professional development activities — which trustees are able to take, as long as they stay within their budget. One type of activity is jurisdictional learning, when “an organized group from the board attends another high-performing educational jurisdiction.”

York chair Loralea Carruthers acknowledges there is no official way of sharing what is learned through professional development, but they are working on it. She said since she became chair, she has encouraged trustees and senior staff to share upcoming development opportunities, so “we are all in the loop.” She added that all policies around foreign travel are under review.

“For every great learning opportunity, we need to ensure there are strict policies in place to enforce accountability, transparency and frugality,” she said. “This is an area we will be reviewing to ensure we are meeting the public’s expectations.”

“I was never given answers as to who went where and what we did there when I asked back in the fall.” SUSAN GELLER MARKHAM TRUSTEE