Audit shows how promotions and pay bumps contributed to TVDSB's $16M deficit

An investigation into the Thames Valley District School Board's finances found instances of mismanagement, including promotions and executive pay raises without trustee approval.  

The audit into southwestern Ontario's largest school board was done by Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PWC) over the course of 10 month, finishing in mid-April. It was quietly posted to the province's website.  

The Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) currently faces a $16-million deficit. In April, shortly after the audit was finished, the province appointed a supervisor to oversee the board, and took authority away from trustees.

Those decisions were made after it was discovered that senior administrators spent $40,000 on a retreat to Toronto last fall. The director of education, Mark Fisher, resigned six months later and numerous senior executives remain on paid leave. 

PWC's 142-page audit details how TVDSB didn't comply with its own compensation rules that would become the "underlying reasons for its deteriorating financial position." 

It identified a total of seven instances of non-compliance, including two where the board didn't abide by its own policies and procedures, and five violations of the Ministry of Education's approved compensation rules for senior administration.

The report found Fisher promoted the board's General Counsel, Ali Chahbar into a superintendent role, without the board's approval during the 2022-23 school year. The position came with a $24,000 pay upgrade.  

In July 2024, Fisher promoted a superintendent to an associate director of education position with a $40,000 salary bump, again without board approval. The individual returned to a superintendent role a few months later in October but continued to earn $239,000, due to a clause in the contract. 

The superintendent is not named in the report, however, CBC has previously reported that superintendent Andrew Canham was an associate director during that time. He is on a paid leave. 

Chahbar also resigned as chair of the London Police Service Board earlier this month, citing health reasons. 

Wages for the director of education, superintendent, and executive officer roles rose by 8.8 per cent, 27.9 per cent and 17.9 per cent, respectively, the audit found. 

COVID costs

Other infractions included two new executive hires who were paid more than they should have been, the audit concluded.

When the pandemic hit, Fisher, superintendents and executive officers received a 10 per cent stipend for the increased scope of their work, despite a prohibition on new compensation elements at the time. 

"These stipends ranged between $15,526 to $23,950 annually, per executive, for a period of 20 months," the report said, adding trustees approved the stipend after seeking external legal advice. 

TVDSB went from having a $3.5 million surplus in 2020-21 to an in-year deficit of $17.32 million in 2023-24, the report said. The board's financial situation is expected to improve in the 2024-25 school year as the deficit drops to $16.8 million, it added. 

'There needs to be a refocus' union head says

Craig Smith, president of the Thames Valley local of the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO), said this audit should serve as a lesson in rethinking priorities that put the focus on supporting students and teachers. 

"I think we've drifted a bit away from that and we need to use this as an opportunity," Smith said Monday. 

"This isn't just one trip to Toronto that caused this. This has been a situation that's been in the making for a number of years. I think as tough as it's going to be for the next year or two for the, board, it's very critical that it happens and it happens right."

Staff absenteeism a problem

The audit also found the board's deficit was not made any better by the high level of staff absenteeism that led to higher costs for supply staff. PWC also noted the over-projected enrolment rates that resulted in $3.5 million excess spending for teachers in 2023-24 and $2.4 million in 2024-25.

The audit also found increased spending on technology and cybersecurity initiatives. 

"The board was unable to adjust its expenses promptly when the financial pressures became apparent during the revised estimates period and later in the year," the report said. 

"Consequently, TVDSB had hired additional teachers and incurred other expenses that could not be retracted due to contractual obligations. To mitigate this in the future, TVDSB plans to adopt a more conservative approach to enrolment forecasting, relying on actual registrations without upward adjustments for development or migration."

Report finds cost-cutting measures

The board has already implemented cost cutting measures to reduce the 2024-25 deficit between $15.9 million to $13.7 million, depending on their success.

These include:

• a reduction in bus monitoring staff
• procurement savings
• educational assistant return-to-work programs
• transitioning from in-person to online summer school
• merging schools
• reviewing the door-to-door transportation model
• ending Beal's transportation program

While it's important to make certain cuts, they shouldn't be made just for the sake of saving money, Smith said, adding that the board instead needs to look at how these cuts are impacting services for students.

"There's also the management culture of the board, it's very top-heavy in terms of administration and that needs to be looked at seriously because there are fixed costs the board can't avoid, but there are some things they need to do."