School employee trips to Dubai, Australia, France draw auditor general scrutiny
CBC
New Brunswick Auditor General Paul Martin raised questions in his annual report about whether three school districts followed government rules when sending dozens of employees around the world for training.
Martin said districts often failed to provide the proper paperwork to justify the trips as a good use of taxpayer money.
His report made note of trips to France, Dubai, Australia and several trips to the United States.
The Anglophone North School School District, for example, sent 17 employees to Australia for the World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education at a cost of $86,410.
"There [were] some pretty big trips that were approved here," said Martin after delivering his report in a livestreamed event on Thursday.
A government press release on the audit said it found "instances of district staff not having documented approval to travel, including a lack of appropriate signatures and cost estimates."
"There were often no documented anticipated or actual benefits to government," the release said.
Martin highlighted a number of specific trips in his report.
The Francophone South School District, for example, sent 13 employees — and an "external consultant" whose expenses were also paid — to train at Apple's headquarters in California at a cost of $48,605.
It also spent $23,469 to send three employees to an education seminar in Dubai.
A spokesperson for the Francophone South School District said the district normally uses video conferences for most "interactions with colleagues or partners abroad."
In specific situations, however, "travel becomes essential," said Jean-Luc Thériault.
To stay "current," he said it's important to "draw inspiration from what is happening elsewhere, both nationally and internationally." And that often requires "direct interaction to ensure the quality of exchanges."
He said "while we adhere to the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development guidelines and financial approval processes, there are instances where certain transactions or information are not documented in paper form, as preferred."
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