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But information supplied by WestJet — the airline Barkway flew with — contradicts that claim.

An official with the airline said they operated three direct or indirect flight routings from Calgary to Montreal on the Sunday that would have allowed her to arrive in plenty of time to attend the awards dinner that evening.

Larry Leach, chairman of the Association for Responsive Trusteeship in Calgary Schools, says Barkway’s expenses don’t jive with the board’s narrative they are spending every dollar they can to benefit kids in the classroom.

“Trustees should be ensuring CBE employees walk the walk as well as talk the talk,” Leach said.

Previous expense claims for the months of May and June revealed ten top executives with the board — including chief superintendent David Stevenson — expensed an average of $645 each dining with work colleagues despite austerity measures that limited lunches on the taxpayer dime.

Stevenson’s January memo reminded managers that the purchase of meals should be “carefully considered and done only when critical meetings extend over the lunch hour.”

Records for July and August reveal CBE bureaucrats continued to dine at swanky restaurants over the summer.

For example, Stevenson and two other members of his superintendent’s team spent $82.41 eating at Township Bar and Grill on August 12 for what the board says was a “working lunch during interviews for a senior CBE position.”

Stevenson and three other top executives also dined with an undisclosed third party at Posto Restaurant on Aug. 26 at what the CBE says was a “job interview” with a cost of $175.70.

Francis expensed $22.95 for pizza at Bonterra Restaurant with three of his HR directors on the evening of July 23 for a “business meeting” that extended past the workday.

“There seems to be a pattern here of top executives taking one another out for lunch,” said Davis, “and trustees need to be asking questions about the expense policies and whether they are being followed.”

mmcclure@calgaryherald.com

Twitter.com/mattmcclure2