The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) gave controversial “diversity, equity and inclusion” (DEI) consultancy KOJO Institute an $81,000 sole sourced contract, according to TDSB records.
This news comes as fallout continues over the suicide of a TDSB principal who had been allegedly bullied by KOJO Institute founder Kike Ojo-Thompson.
A 2020 TDSB agenda obtained by the Toronto Sun’s Joe Warmington shows the board gave the KOJO Institute a $81,000 contract for DEI work from July 2020 to May 2021.
Documents and minutes also show that the consultancy group was retained without a proper tender or bidding process.
One TDSB document explains that “during the pandemic, there were not many organizations who had the capacity or experience (to) commit to online training of large groups or participants.”
This is not the first case of the KOJO Institute billing thousands of dollars for its DEI services. As previously reported by True North’s Sue Ann-Levy, equity sessions from the consultancy group cost the City of Sarnia $6000.
Ojo-Thompson and her organization has been the subject of vast scrutiny following the suicide of TDSB principal Richard Bilkszto.
A lawsuit filed by Bilkszto against the TDSB alleges that he was bullied, shamed, humiliated and repeatedly labelled a “white supremacist” after he politely challenged Ojo-Thompson’s claim that Canada is far more racist than the United States. Ojo-Thompson subsequently suggested that the TDSB take action against Bilkszto for allegedly choosing not to “unlearn” his white supremacism.
The lawsuit has yet to be served, and the allegations have not been proven in court.
The lawsuit also claims that the TDSB reneged on the contract to hire him at Burnhamthorpe Collegiate when he returned from a sick leave he took following the incident. He also had other contracts revoked and failed to get other internal positions as well.
Bilkszto’s family claimed that he dealt with plaguing stress stemming from the confrontation at the training.
Ontario’s Ministry of Education has ordered a review into training for teaching staff.
In a statement, Ojo-Thompson said she welcomed the ministry’s review. She also offered her condolences to Bilkszto’s family, but denied the allegations made against her.
“The death of Richard Bilkszto is a tragedy and all of us at KOJO Institute offer our condolences to his loved ones,” said Ojo-Thompson. “KOJO Institute welcomes Education Minister Stephen Lecce’s review of this matter and will cooperate fully with Ministry officials.”
“The allegations made against me and KOJO Institute within Mr. Bilkszto’s lawsuit against the Toronto District School Board are false, and we are not a party to the lawsuit. We only learned of the mischaracterization of events detailed in the Statement of Claim filed against the Board, two years after the workshop.”
Ojo-Thompson also claimed that “this incident is being weaponized to discredit and suppress the work of everyone committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
“While the coverage by right-wing media of this controversy is disappointing and led to our organization and team members receiving threats and vitriol online, we will not be deterred from our work in building a better society for everyone.”
The TDSB did not respond to a request from True North regarding the KOJO Institute’s sole sourced contract.
Last week, the TDSB announced that it has launched its own investigation into the circumstances surrounding Bilkszto’s death.
Toronto’s largest school board also said it stood by holding regular DEI training sessions for staff – claiming they’re “important.”
With files from True North’s Sue-Ann Levy.
