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As School Districts throughout the Province compete for a share in the lucrative International Education market, the Board of School Trustees approved a $15,000 dollar seven-day "fact finding trip to India..." to visit a series of schools operated by the Ryan Group, an Indian educational consortium.

"Discussions about the high cost of this trip balanced against the need to explore a potential new market represented by [the Ryan Group] a large and highly regarded institution.", according to highlights published from the June 13th board meeting.

When asked why individual School Districts are conducting business abroad instead of focusing on educating local students, and if promoting International Education could be more efficiently managed collectively under a Provincial mandate, both the Ministry of Education and School District No. 42 declined comment.

The District's Manager of International Education will visit parents from nine local schools regarding the Board's intention to follow up with the group's interest in developing educational partnerships.

With revenues of $4.7M, a gross profit of $2.3M from Offshore International Education was reported by the District according to 2006/2007 budget documents.