U.S. Investigates Possible Misconduct in Chicago Public Schools
CHICAGO — Federal investigators are speaking to public school officials here as part of an inquiry into possible misconduct, the president of the Chicago Board of Education acknowledged this week.
Although Chicago Public Schools leaders and federal prosecutors declined to identify the target of the investigation, local news media outlets, citing anonymous sources, reported that the investigation related to a no-bid contract that was awarded to a former employer of Barbara Byrd-Bennett, the school system’s chief executive.
“The Board of Education was made aware that federal authorities are investigating a matter at C.P.S. and have requested interviews with several employees,” the board’s president, David J. Vitale, said in a statement issued on Wednesday. “We take any allegation of misconduct seriously, and we are fully cooperating with investigators who requested that we not discuss any specifics regarding the ongoing investigation.”
Ms. Byrd-Bennett, who was appointed to her post in 2012 by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, oversees this city’s troubled system of more than 600 schools and about 400,000 students.
The Chicago Tribune and The Chicago Sun-Times reported this week that the investigation focused on Ms. Byrd-Bennett’s involvement with a no-bid, $20.5 million contract that the district awarded to SUPES Academy, where, the newspapers said, Ms. Byrd-Bennett worked before she was hired by the district. According to The Tribune, a federal grand jury has been reviewing evidence on the matter for at least a year.
A district spokesman did not respond to requests for comment from Ms. Byrd-Bennett.
SUPES Academy, an Illinois-based company that trains teachers and school administrators, said in a statement that it was cooperating with the authorities. The contract with SUPES, approved by the board in 2013, called for three years of training for school principals. Ms. Byrd-Bennett signed the request for the board to consider the contract, records show.
“Federal investigators have informed SUPES Academy of an investigation involving the Chicago Public Schools and have obtained records and files,” said Dennis Culloton, a spokesman for the company. “SUPES will of course cooperate with this investigation. At the same time, the company stands behind the countless hours of training it has provided to Chicago Public Schools principals.”
A spokeswoman for the United States attorney’s office in Chicago, Kim Nerheim, declined to comment.
News of the investigation came just over a week after Mayor Emanuel won re-election in a campaign that focused largely on education, and as the school system copes with a $1 billion deficit for the 2016 fiscal year and an estimated $9 billion in unfunded pension liabilities.
Students in many Chicago schools struggle to graduate and meet basic learning standards, and Mr. Emanuel has made improving the education system part of his platform. Though the mayor has had success in lengthening the school day and expanding all-day kindergarten, his approach has provoked complaints.
The recent election campaign included frequent criticism of the decision to close dozens of schools in 2013 and a labor dispute that led to a teachers strike the year before. The current contract with the teachers union expires in June.
Mr. Emanuel said at a news conference Wednesday that he was aware of an investigation, but that he did not know the details.
“There’s no information in the sense of who’s the target, who are the individuals,” Mr. Emanuel said. “The federal authorities that are investigating don’t share a lot while they have an active investigation. I’m as eager as you are for answers to questions.”
Source: New York Times