new financial records revealed wide differences in how much appointed supervisors are charging the province. The supervisors, brought in by Education Minister Paul Calandra under the government of Premier Doug Ford, were tasked with restoring financial discipline and refocusing boards on student success. However, invoices obtained through freedom of information requests show that their billing varies significantly, with one supervisor charging nearly $240,000 over a six-month period. While contracts allow supervisors to bill up to $2,000 per day for a maximum of 3.5 days per week — potentially reaching $350,000 annually — the lack of uniformity in actual charges has raised concerns about oversight and consistency.
Adding to the controversy, some supervisors have also billed the government for HST on top of their fees, increasing overall costs to taxpayers. The provincial government has defended the discrepancies, stating that each school board requires a different level of involvement and time commitment, making a standardized billing approach impractical. Supervisors were first deployed to boards such as the Thames Valley District School Board and later to others in Toronto, Ottawa, and Peel Region after the province determined they had lost focus on their core responsibilities. While the government maintains that these interventions are necessary to restore trust and accountability, the significant variation in compensation has prompted questions about whether the effort to impose financial discipline is itself being managed efficiently.