A former senior staff member at an Ontario school board that’s now under provincial supervision is facing criminal charges.
London police announced the charge Thursday against a former employee at the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB), which is being scrutinized by the Ford government over reported financial mismanagement.
Police said that between July 22 and Aug. 9, 2024, a TVDSB employee responsible for sorting mail raised concerns about several similar-looking envelopes addressed to different staff members.
The employee brought the issue to their supervisor – the accused – and she was instructed to open one envelope, which contained anonymous allegations of misconduct against several TVDSB authorities, including the accused herself, police said.
The accused allegedly ordered the letter to be shredded, and the others withheld until the new school year, at which point they were distributed, police added.
“In October 2024, an internal TVDSB investigation revealed that one of the envelopes had been stolen during the summer. In July 2025, the mail theft was reported to the London Police Service,” police said.
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The accused, a former associate director of education, was charged with one count of mail theft. It was announced back in March they were no longer employed with the TVDSB.
The allegation comes at a time when the school board is under intense scrutiny for reported financial misconduct, which were later confirmed through multiple audits and investigations.
At the time of the alleged mail theft, the then director of education took a leave of absence in September 2024 amid a separate financial investigation.
Just days before his leave, it was revealed the board had spent nearly $40,000 on an off-site planning retreat at Toronto’s Rogers Centre hotel.
The retreat included hotel accommodations, meeting spaces, and catering, which sparked public outrage and led to a government-ordered audit of the board’s finances.
Although TVDSB declined to comment further, citing personnel confidentiality reasons, the audits that were conducted further revealed a sharp financial drop at TVDSB.
The board went from a $3.5 million surplus in 2021 to a $17.3 million deficit in the 2023–2024 school year. For 2024–2025, the projected shortfall is now expected to sit at $16.8 million.
In response, the board has begun major staffing cuts, aiming to save $4.7 million.
Despite this, the ministry of education found what it described as “extremely poor judgment” in how public funds were used. Meanwhile, the future of leadership at TVDSB remains uncertain.
Anyone with additional information into the mail theft investigation is asked to contact authorities.
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