Under fire for Toronto trip, future retreats by TVDSB executives will be held 'closer to home'

Future strategic planning sessions by the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) senior members will be no longer be held out of town.

“We do recognize that in the modern fiscal reality, this is something probably we need to take a harder look at in the future and perhaps do this much closer to home,” said Mark Fisher, TVDSB director of education.

Fisher's reflection comes after the public learned 18 senior executives spent two nights at the Marriott Hotel at the Rogers Centre in downtown Toronto, Ont. last week.

Some of the rooms even had a field view of the Toronto Blue Jays games against the Cincinnati Reds, while the board is experiencing a $7.6 million dollar deficit.

“It's best practice traditionally for senior teams, both in the public and private sector, to do strategic planning sessions,” said Fisher. “This helps us prepare for the school year, and is valuable for a senior leadership. We have 14,000 employees, 85,000 students and we need time to get together and plan and strategize.”

Thames Valley District School Board Director of Education Mark Fisher speaks to CTV News on Aug. 28, 2024. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)

The retreat with money approved from the previous budget cycle cost thousands of dollars. Fisher didn’t have the exact amount for CTV News, but said they received “a bulk rate that included meals, meeting rooms, and we did get a discounted rate.”

It’s that rate which isn’t being disclosed, which is upsetting to local unions.

“When teachers don't have pencils, they don't have pens, they don't have paper, they don't have access to photocopying, that’s the challenge,” said Craig Smith, president of the Thames Valley local of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO).

“Given the budget situation the board's experiencing right now, for teachers it will be squaring the retreat, and where it happened out of district,” said Smith.

CUPE local 4222 president Mary Henry calls the cost of the retreat “disgusting.”

President of the Thames Valley Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario Craig Smith speaks to CTV News on Aug. 28, 2024 (Brent Lale/CTV News London)

“I think is really sad because it's taxpayers' dollars that are paying for it,” said Henry. “Every penny should be accounted for and shared accordingly. We have custodians right now that don't have the tools that they need in order to do their jobs, and we have secretaries bringing supplies to school, yet they can have funds for stuff like this.”

Going forward, Fisher said they will make changes to this longstanding practice.

“One of the things we're doing here is we're actually renovating our office here on Dundas Street to make sure that we can accommodate these large scale meetings and do much more of this professional learning and professional development right here at our own education center,” said Fisher.

Smith believes that this can be a learning moment for administration.

“If there's been some reflection, that is a good thing,” said Smith. “The reality, though, is the situations faced by teachers in schools and students will continue and there needs to be some significant readjustment in things moving forward.”

Renovations are happening inside the Thames Valley District School Board Education Centre in order to be able to host larger meetings in the future, seen on Aug. 28, 2024. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)