Donors may foot $100K bill for controversial Italy art, Ontario school trustee claims

The seat of an Ontario Catholic schoolhouse board nether occurrence for a summertime Italy travel claims respective donors are “very interested” successful footing the $100,000 measure for artwork it commissioned.

Rick Petrella, seat of the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board (BHNCDSB), said successful a missive posted connected the board’s website Tuesday that the radical of trustees that expensed the $145,000 trip is committed to “making things right.”

“With that said, each trustee progressive including myself are taking factual actions to code the expenses incurred to the Board, including idiosyncratic repayment,” Petrella said.

“In respect to the outgo of the statues commissioned, I person been successful discussions with respective Catholic donors precocious who are precise funny successful assisting successful covering these costs. I americium actively moving with them to unafraid their donations and region immoderate fiscal obligations of nationalist dollars for this expense.”

The BHNCDSB has been nether occurrence pursuing an Oct. 15 study successful the Brantford Expositor that revealed 4 trustees went connected a $45,000 week-long travel to Italy successful July to bargain $100,000 worthy of artwork for a caller precocious schoolhouse nether operation successful Brantford, which is adjacent Hamilton.

Petrella told the Expositor the artwork, which includes life-sized, hand-painted woody statues of St. Padre Pio and the Virgin Mary, was portion of a program to marque the caller schoolhouse a “flagship” instauration for the board. It is acceptable to unfastened successful September 2026.

The trustees travelled to South Tyrol, an country known for producing spiritual creation since the 1500s, the Expositor reported. Artists determination person supplied enactment to the Pope successful the past, the outlet indicated.

Funding from the artwork came from the board’s $33-million surplus, portion backing for the travel came retired of a wide allocation utilized for trustee question and expenses, Petrella told the outlet.

He added that committee support for the artwork and the travel wasn’t required fixed that the dollar fig was tiny erstwhile compared with the $46 cardinal being spent connected the school, and the information that the wealth makes up the bigger fund support process, which is OK’d by the committee annually.

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Education Minister Jill Dunlop ordered an probe aft proceeding the report. She said connected Oct. 16 that the committee “failed students and parents” with a “serious deficiency of fiscal work and judgement.”

Petrella issued an apology successful an Oct. 17 statement, and vowed the trustees would repay what they expensed.

In his missive Tuesday, Petrella reiterated that portion the travel was undertaken “in bully faith, with bully intentions … mistakes were made.”

He added the committee has begun rewriting its trustee disbursal rules, is moving to docket a argumentation gathering and volition “fully cooperate” with the ministry’s investigation.

“Our extremity with these actions stated supra is to get to a full nett zero outgo presumption for the committee and for the ratepayer for these expenses,” Petrella said.

“We anticipation these archetypal factual steps volition acceptable america connected the way to restoring your spot and assurance successful us.”