CHICAGO – Barbara Byrd Bennett resigned Monday as CEO of the Chicago Public Schools.
It is being reported that she was involved in a $20 million dollar no bid contract for professional development with SUPES, a group that trains school principals. Bennett became the CPS CEO from SUPES.
MORE NEWS: Know These Before Moving From Cyprus To The UK
For a school system that is almost bankrupt, this expense is consider extremely dubious by many observers. Most principals have advanced degrees, so it is unclear why we spend money on this. The focus should be on educating the kids.
This story first broke from a blogger almost two years ago with little attention from elected officials, investigators, of the main stream media. It appeared in the publication Catalyst.
Yesterday I stopped by the SUPES offices at 1215 Washington Street in Wilmette and discovered they are gone. As one can see from the photos before and after, that the names have been removed from the building and the offices are emptied. They are gone!
I looked around and can report no sign of Barbara Byrd Bennett of the $20 million dollars. I guess it is gone.
This makes an excellent argument for school choice with what appears to be waste, fraud, and corruption in this circumstance. Many feel we need more charter schools, private schools, parochial schools, catholic schools, and homeschooling. The focus should not be on the teachers, administrators, and the contractors. The focus should be on the students, parents, and the tax payers.
On a side note, Chicago has closed over 50 schools with little discussion of the real reason for these closures. The population of the city is shrinking with Chicago losing over 50,000 residents over the past ten years according to the census. In addition, new schools have been built like Northside Prep and Walter Payton Prep without closing any at that time. Many schools are kept open which probably should be closed and consolidated.
MORE NEWS: How to prepare for face-to-face classes
The current school board is under much pressure now as they approved this questionable no bid contract. The teachers union contract (labor agreement) is up and they of course want more money. According to several sources, the average salary is $73,000 with extensive benefits and promised pension which is also bankrupted. There is no new money and raising property taxes is out of the question because people will just leave. Teachers should face the fact they will have to work harder, more hours, for perhaps less money. They most definitely will have a different pension, probably private IRAs or even social security (FICA). Currently teachers do not contribute to the social security. One solution for all new employees to be on FICA.
Gov. Bruce Rauner has floated a new “service tax” which could affect car washes, hair salons, locksmiths, plumbers, electricians, child care providers, heating companies, and dog walkers. This of course will raise the cost of doing business in Chicago and most definitely hurt the middle class.
They also are looking at a Chicago casino which much like the lottery probably will do little to help. The Illinois Lottery was started in 1974 as a solution to all our school funding needs. I would argue it has just taken money from poor people and contributed little to education.
Back to the resignation, it’s all about the money. I guess that is why she resigned and the FBI is investigating. At this point, let’s let the investigation continue but the “appearance of impropriety” exists in many people’s eyes.
What a surprise, another scandal in Chicago. Again school choice is a solution for the future for more accountability along with focus being on the students. After all, don’t they say, “it’s all about the kids.”
Authored by Mark Weyermuller
Published with permission
Join the Discussion
Comments are currently closed.