TCDSB Chair wanted fries with that – at taxpayers’ expense

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Holy shakes!

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Being the chair of the Toronto Catholic District School Board sure can be sweet if you have the taxpayers flipping the bill. Yes, at a cost of $15.81, TCDSB Chair Markus de Domenico submitted an expense for a cookie dough-flavoured treat from the Holy Shakes Deserts Cafe on Rexdale Blvd. on April 22, 2024.

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And that’s just one of the eateries Education Minister Paul Calandra has flagged in expense receipts filed by the TCDSB Chair and Ward 2 trustee.

The Beertown Public House location on Islington Ave. in Etobicoke appears to be such a good place for learning that Ontario taxpayers were billed by de Domenico for not one or two trips there in the spring of 2024, but three.

On May 25, 2024, at 2:13 p.m., there’s a receipt for $76.90 and a $10 tip for a total of $86.90. On June 18, 2024, at 8:16 p.m., $107.73 and a $16.16 tip for a total of $123.89 that was submitted.

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Then on June 24, 2024, it was $89.54 with a tip of $13.43 for a total of $102.97.

It’s unclear what was ordered in those Beertown visits totalling $313.76 in less than a month since the bill is not itemized. While some Beertown locations do offer milkshakes, they are mostly famous for other fine beverages.

At Richview Bakery and Bistro, the taxpayers paid $3 for Brio, $7 for veal and $10 for a large sandwich. While on June 22 at 3 a.m. there is a receipt for a McDonald’s order that consisted of a strawberry Fruitopia drink, French fries and a Quarter Pounder at a charge of $15.59. But the total bill came to $23.22 when you add in the delivery fee, which included $1.99, a service fee of $1.70 and a “courier tip” of $1.55.

While you were sleeping, somebody was snacking – on your tab. But why?

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There are also receipts filed for a $15.70 charge from Audible, an Apple.com bill for $14.68, and a $145.77 charge at the Apple Store in Sherway Gardens for a “Graphite Milanese Loop,” which is a strap for an Apple Watch, as well as Amazon orders for the book Reaching Down the Rabbit Hole: Extraordinary Journeys into the Human Brain, at $24.78, and another one for $21.72 for the book Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment.

The flaw in this judgement that the Education Minister points out is that none of these treats or purchases benefit students in the schools. It’s the same thing Toronto Suncolumnist Brian Lilley exposed last year when he found school boards had spent tens of thousands of dollars to go to places like Hawaii and Italy and even purchase Italian art on the taxpayers’ credit card.

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The only reason any of this became public is because de Domenico was on John Moore’s show on Newstalk 1010 and was critical of Calandra and the Ford government’s decision to strip the TCDSB and other boards of operating powers due to alleged “mismanagement.”

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When asked to respond to de Domenico’s on-air criticism of the Ford government’s school board takeovers and what he called “$25 million in underfunding to schools,” Calandra went on the air with Moore and said he will not take fiscal advice from somebody billing the taxpayers for milkshakes or late-night munchies.

“Ontario families deserve better than trustees who treat the classroom like their personal expense account,” Calandra said.

But the chair pushed back telling a skeptical Moore, “I guess if the world would operate and spin the way Calandra wants it to do, no one would speak up for students, no one would speak up for kids because he has a very right-wing view of the world.”

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While the TCDSB Chair has so far not responded to the Sun for comment, de Domenico did not deny submitting these receipts, telling Moore, “I am not going to get into this partisan thing of listing Calandra’s expenses, God help us, compared to mine. My office is a McDonald’s half the time or a Starbucks where I meet my parents and, yeah, I will buy them a milkshake or a burger or whatever.”

But Calandra was unforgiving, telling the Sun this kind of waste is why the government is looking to reform school board governance across the province – something there will be announcements about in the months ahead.

“This trustee can cry foul all he wants, but let’s be clear: while parents are working hard to support their kids, he was expensing milkshakes, McDonald’s delivery at 3 a.m., and even a $145 Apple Watch strap,” Calandra said. “None of that helps a single child learn to read or do math. He failed in his responsibility to parents and students, and that’s why I stepped in.”

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Hopefully the TCDSB’s Foodie Party at taxpayers’ expense is over for good. Going forward, if de Domenico or any trustee orders a milkshake, a burger, or goes to the brew pub, they should pay for it themselves.

One positive outcome is that taxpayers, who can’t afford to lavishly dine out like some who oversee our schools do, have received an education on how their money earmarked for kids in schools was being spent.

jwarmington@postmedia.com

EDITOR’S NOTE – Toronto Catholic District School Board Chair Markus de Domenico responded to the Toronto Sun’s request for comment after reading this story late Friday night, after our newspaper’s deadline, with the following statement:

“I’ve never had an Apple TV Plus subscription. I meet my parents wherever they want, I don’t have a constituency office so it’s Tims, Starbucks or a restaurant. I’ll pick up the tab as not everyone has the means to do so. I’m here to help families, this is not a job you do for the renumeration, I’m a dad and a Grandparent trying to help.”

“Clearly I touched a nerve with Minister Calandra as I have been calling him out on his true plan, the removal of the parent voice. It’s unfortunate that the Minister has chosen to attack rather than partner with Trustees and parents, which is what I asked him to consider yesterday on 1010. ”

“Parents are very upset at the removal of their democratically elected voice. Who on earth thinks it’s going to be good for parents to have a centralized Ministry bureaucracy? It’s a power grab.”

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