EDMONTON – The Canadian Taxpayers Federation wants to see the expenses and receipts of the Alberta School Boards Association posted online after emails allegedly questioned the association’s use of funds for staff accommodations, travel and retreats.
The CTF said emails from current Health Minister, and former Edmonton Public School Board Chair, Sarah Hoffman and current EPSB Chair Michael Janz ask the ASBA if money is being spent appropriately.
“School boards send millions of tax dollars to the ASBA each year, so it is crucial that the ASBA is spending on items that benefit students, not staff perks,” said CTF Alberta Director Paige MacPherson.
The group claimed emails from Hoffman and Janz questioned the association for expensing hotel bills for people staying in the same city they live in, excessive flights between Edmonton and Calgary, a pricey rental space and other travel and out-of-town retreats.
“I don’t believe we should be expensing accommodations or travel within the jurisdiction you live,” Hoffman wrote in an email to ASBA dated Feb. 7.
She added that the wording about the travel guidelines was too vague. Hoffman also suggested having an expense disclosure policy that aligned with the Alberta government would be a good step to ensure trust and confidence in the board.
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She expressed concern about the ASBA’s office space, which is rented for $198 per square metre. Hoffman suggested a space could be found in Edmonton Public Schools at non-profit rental rates of $9.50 per square metre.
In February, then-EPSB Chair Hoffman asked the ASBA for a spending review and more budget detail to ensure students are benefiting.
“In general, I feel like there is a great deal of discretionary spending,” she wrote in the email. “I have watched task forces come and go, and trips be taken without feeling well-informed on the costs and benefits.”
Hoffman was asked about the situation on Monday.
“I think, especially when you’re using public funds, it’s important that you treat every dollar with the utmost respect,” she said. “Any time that I’ve had concerns about that, I’ve made sure that I’ve noted them.
“As an elected official I think it’s important that we act with utmost due diligence for any taxpayer dollars.
“I’m proud of what I’ve done in the past and where it’s brought me today and the fact that I continue to treat taxpayer dollars with the most respect,” Hoffman added.
In June, Janz resigned “on principle” as vice president of the ASBA. He emphasized his commitment to fiscal restraint and explained those commitments didn’t “align with the current direction of the ASBA.”
Emails sent from Janz just before his resignation call attention to a trip made to Washington for a conference.
“Your flight landed Feb. 2 at 12:20 p.m. and the closing general session was 4 p.m.,” he wrote on May 28.
When asked about the emails, current Education Minister David Eggen said he’d look further into board spending.
“I expect the highest degree of transparency from all school boards in the province and certainly we have had communications with all 61 boards as well as with the auditor general. So if we need to help expedite further levels of transparency, then that’s fair play,” he said Monday.
“I end up disseminating 98 per cent of the education budget down into school boards, so the responsibility for both transparency and careful, careful expenditure is passed on to them too.”
The CTF called on the education minister to withhold funding from the association until expenses are disclosed.
Monday afternoon, the ASBA said it was surprised by the CTF news release and defended its budget process.
“We’ve always had a strict policy in place and we’ve always had guidelines in place,” said ASBA president Helen Clease.
“We have always had a budget process in place. When it comes to checks and balances, we have an external auditor who reviews our things, we get quarterly reports from our finance group, and of course we submit that out to the boards, too. They can see what the past expenses were and where we are going forward.”
She said the association is aware of budgetary constraints. Last spring, during budget discussions, Clease said the ASBA decided to pull out of the National School Boards Association, which eliminated out-of-country travel.
Clease said most of the questions brought up in the emails sent by Hoffman and Janz were already addressed internally during the spring budget process.
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