Brant Catholic school board trustee Rick Petrella on leave of absence

The beleaguered former chair of Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board is on an unpaid leave of absence. Longtime trustee Rick Petrella has been under fire since news broke of a publicly funded $50,000 trip to Italy he took with trustees Dan Dignard, Bill Chopp and Mark Watson. They purchased more than $70,000 in artwork for two new schools. The board also spent more than $60,000 for legal advice in the aftermath of the trip. Petrella was absent from the board meeting on March 2