Rick Petrella has apologized after he and other trustees from the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board travelled to Italy to buy custom art for the board's new schools.
A student and parent say they were disappointed and frustrated by the trip and the money would be better spent on school meal programs and educational supports.Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board chair Rick Petrella went on a trip to Italy with trustees Dan Dignard, Bill Chopp and Mark Watson this past summer to buy art on behalf of the board.
Catholic school board trustees apologize after buying $100K in religious art on publicly funded Italy trip In a statement last week, after facing backlash from the public and a probe from the Ministry of Education, Petrella said "such incidents" will not happen again. "We hope these initial concrete steps will set us on the path to restoring your trust and confidence in us," Petrella said.
Her mom Ashling Green said the trustee trip to Italy felt like an "abuse of power," especially when "times are extremely hard" for parents facing higher costs of living.
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