Toronto public school board trustees have charged taxpayers for everything from $19 worth of groceries — including nuts and hand lotion — to a tour of Israel that cost almost $4,000.

An internal audit of questionable expenditures filed by Toronto District School Board elected officials, obtained by the Star, includes scores of reimbursed claims that are not allowed or for which it is “unclear” as to how they relate to the job of trustee:

Gerri Gershon: a $22.82 floor mat, “frequent meal claims,” and a book at the airport. The veteran trustee charged a $3,765 tour of Israel, explaining to the Star that the trip was to promote interfaith relations after one of her schools came under fire for providing space for Muslim prayers. She said she “Tweeted the entire trip.”

Howard Kaplan: groceries, including lotion and nuts, and a $25 clock radio for his office. He told the Star he has “no idea what the nuts are,” and that the lotion is at his board office because his hands get “red and chapped, especially in the winter.” He said he made an error in filing that and offered to pay back the amount, but was told not to bother.

John Hastings: a $205 aerial tour of the oilsands in Alberta, which he explained as part of his ongoing interest in promoting the trades to students. The tour was part of his trip to the west coast for a conference, where he booked and paid for two rooms in Whistler, B.C. — which he said was in case the reservation on the first room fell through. He booked another room in Richmond, B.C., to hold meetings with “key personnel” before heading to Calgary.

Mari Rutka: purchased an iMac Air computer for $1,771.11, complaining the Dell purchased under board contract, as required by spending policies to keep costs down, kept breaking down and was too heavy for her to carry around.

Elizabeth Moyer: charged taxpayers “frequent purchases at Starbucks and fast-food restaurants … also regular early morning meetings on weekends” that aren’t properly documented, which she explained are meetings with constituents. She also charged $11.30 for chocolate bars and purchased “numerous TTC tokens” without reasons provided, and claimed 265 kilometres for a 76-kilometre trip to the airport. “This claim was questioned by the accounting department and approved based on the explanation given,” she told the Star.

Moyer also claimed “numerous downtown Toronto parking expenses were claimed … the parking locations appear to be near Moyer’s place of employment,” the audit says. Moyer’s explanation: “In discussion with finance staff, they agreed that the TDSB policy was to choose the lowest cost option. Parking near my office was cheaper than taking a cab to these meetings, and finance approved based on this discussion.”

Several trustees, including Hastings, Moyer, Gershon and Shelley Laskin have racked up tens of thousands of dollars for out-of-town conferences. They also charged taxpayers to stay in a downtown Toronto hotel for a conference, when they all live in the city — Laskin just 7 kilometres away.

Trustee Howard Goodman, who has insisted on accountability and transparency at the board, refused to allow his information in the audit to be released. However, when approached by the Star, he provided his portion of the audit. Little was questioned, other than conferences he attended as part of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association, for which he said he did not need prior approval.

Some portions of the report, obtained through a freedom of information request, are redacted, a decision the Star is appealing with Ontario’s privacy commissioner.

Trustees contacted by the Star said some of the expenses were approved by the chair of the board or staff who should have told them if they were ineligible, or that the rules were unclear.

However, after Toronto Catholic trustees were excoriated years ago for spending abuses — including a sun lamp and lingerie — there has been a heightened awareness about what expenses are eligible and appropriate.

Several trustees bought gift cards or even a CD for parent council members or guest speakers, which they also billed taxpayers for.

A new spending policy was brought in last May. However, unlike their Catholic counterparts, Toronto public trustees still don’t post their expenses online, with receipts. They voted last Friday to post expenses online in broader categories, with trustees Sam Sotiropoulos, Harout Manougian, Sheila Cary-Meagher, Jerry Chadwick, Pam Gough and Shaun Chen unsuccessfully pushing for more details to be published.

Kaplan, when questioned about his expenses, which included a desk lamp and the clock radio, wondered why the matter was newsworthy.

“It was three years ago and so picayune, ” said Kaplan. “It was on a bill with other purchases, I submitted them all together and they got in there by mistake.”

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He added “my God, it’s not even a rounding error in a $3-billion budget. You are going to waste ink on something that costs less than $20? . . . If anyone wants to complain about $20, then I’m happy to donate it. It’s nickel-and-diming, really.”

Recurring problems included high hourly wages for constituency assistants, meals without proper receipts or details, and mileage claims that don’t match distances using online map. Other trustees expensed mileage for meetings they weren’t recorded as attending. Trustees were also cited many times for not seeking pre-approval for purchases over $500, as is required.

Education Director Donna Quan said the audit was a chance for the board to look at financial controls, and “I think the findings clearly indicate that we have some process control matters to deal with” and that trustees need to be trained as to the rules on spending.

“We have to have the courage to call the question and to challenge when we know that maybe a policy or procedure is not followed or not as strong in place as it could be,” she said.

She said policies and procedures now are far more clear, “and we are more aware that trustees needed professional development on it.”

Trustees each have $27,000 to spend each year, a limit most trustees abided by.

“These are public funds, and how we spend those funds must be help up to a high level of scrutiny,” Quan added.

Three trustees expensed alcohol — Moyer, David Smith and former chair Chris Bolton — with Bolton saying his bill was at a restaurant in China and the alcohol was mistakenly included. He also billed $28 for what the audit described as a cookie, but he said includes food ordered during the crisis when former director Chris Spence was resigning from the board after he admitting to plagiarism.

Moyer said she is embarrassed by the alcohol claim, which is ineligible, and has repaid it.

Trustee Stephnie Payne spent $4,216 mostly on courier costs to deliver ward newsletters, when the board average is $327. She also spent $2,527 in cabs.

Trustee Irene Atkinson paid guest speakers $1,000 an hour and expensed a $250 parking ticket, which she told the Star she won’t repay.

Long-distance phone bills and international roaming charges were also an issue previously reported by the Star — with some trustees, including David Smith, making calls during the Christmas or summer break without any obvious link to board business.

Smith also had roaming charges in excess of $2,000.

Trustee Sheila Ward expensed $2,000 of Joomla website training for her assistant.