As the PUSD turns...
School districts remind me of soap operas - minus the romance and other rather risque elements, of course! There's money, intrigue and plenty of personalities. The smallest plot element - a consulting contract in this case - draws the ire of parents and a few school board members.
PUSD's board recently approved a nearly $100,000 consulting contract for Kristin Maschka, who was brought to the district in similar post under Percy Clark nearly four years ago.
While the board approved the contract, there is a back story to this. While she was the sole candidate, her resume was not submitted to the board, outside candidates were not considered, and as one board member told me, the Percy Clark era left much to be desired.
Edwin Diaz said that all consulting contracts will be reviewed over the next six months. The district has relied a little too much on outside people to do internal work, he said.
As for the resume? Diaz admits that he should have just made copies and sent it over.
This is an interesting story for several reasons.
PEN is, by its own description, a promoter of PUSD rather than a critic. (See their "history" at their website) No doubt that will be the goal of their President's new side job "consulting" for the district.
That is not totally bad, unless it is an attempt to muffle the real and growing voice of concerned parents with more neutral goals. Has Kristin been hired as a propagandist?
The district has "listened" to the burgeioning education reform minded citizens who have rallied around recent activities organized by Invest in PUSD Kids. But they haven't really embraced them.
"Invest" held a meeting and drew a capacity crowd of 200+. Can PEN and Kristin point to that kind of current and popular support?
If the district would rather enrich the partizans than embrace the people, it is a bad omen.
Did the Superintendent know of the potential dispute over this hire and choose to do this anyway? I don't know. But the answer may tell us which way this is going. I hope for PUSD's and it's students sake, this is a glitch due more to the new relationships and not business as usual.
When Mr. Diaz said that all consulting contracts would be reviewed over the next six months did he mean to include this latest one and all of the others? Have there been any others in the last 6 months?
Is $100k paid out up front? Or, is the an amount that the consulting firm is allowed to bill the school district? I'm curious as to the duration of the contract, as well.
While I'm bombarding you with questions (heh! sorry!) is there any chance that we the public wallets can get a look at that contract?
Diaz lost any credibility he had by caving in to this political payoff by Selinske, Harrison, Babcock, Honowitz and Phelps. (You gotta love that the guy complained about the deal but voted for it.)
The ACTers must be very happy to see the pay for political support system back up and running. Who goes on the payroll next, John Furman or Fred Register?
After they throw $100K at their pal Kristen, how are they gonna justify crying poor when the state cuts their budget next year?
Mike
Hello, and welcome to the Ed Beat. I hope you don't fall into the pattern of doing "hard-bitten" expose style reporting on PUSD. It's certainly easiest to subscribe to Rene Amy's email list and cherry pick dirt from there for stories you can write from your desk, but I hope you find your own voice, and make time to get out to the school sites to see what's going on with your own eyes. Drama makes easy headlines, but there are so many more small quiet victories every day across the district. My kids go to Willard. If you want to find dedicated and talented professionals on top of their game, stop by and talk to Ms. Pehlivanos (1st), Ms. Degroof (2nd), Ms. Whitry (IB Coordinator), Dr. Onoye (Principal).
Hi Everyone!
The Maschka contract will also be reviewed over the next six months, according to Edwin Diaz. He also said that he expects to give the board an evaluation of the type of work she is doing especially in light of the comments made at the last boarding meeting.
The public should be able to get a copy of the contract since it is public record.
Stay tuned everybody!