Results: Ontario school trustees 'deeply regret' $145K Italy trip, vow to repay expenses

A group of trustees at an Ontario Catholic school board are apologizing for going to Italy this summer to buy $100,000 worth of artwork for a new school. Rick Petrella, chair of the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board (BHNCDSB), told Global News in a statement Thursday they “deeply regret” the trip, which is now subject to a ministry investigation. “We recognize that the optics and actions of this trip were not favourable, 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,” he said. The BHNCDSB has been under fire following a report in the Brantford Expositor that revealed four trustees went on a $45,000 Italy trip for a week in July to buy $100,000 worth of artwork for a new high school under construction in Brantford, which is near Hamilton.

Source: https://globalnews.ca/news/10815747/ontario-school-italy-trip-investigation/