Sunday, June 19, 2011

How we got where we are Part VI (February to May 2007)

On another post, Anonymous wrote:

"Infiltrating Bellefield with Broad-friendly employees and consultants was the business of the day from February to May 2007:

1. February 20, 2007: The Board approves that Christiana Otuwa be reimbursed an amount not to exceed fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) for appropriate moving and temporary living expenses.

2. March 21, 2007: The curriculum and professional development shuffle picks up speed with ETS Educational Testing Services and Paula Bevan landing a $107,700 contract to collaborate with other consultants (RAND and Institute for Learning), train principals, including a train the trainer model. The trainer would apparently never be trained, as Dr. Bevan would continue lining up for PPS contracts to this day.

A new class of employee is created, with the Board approving a 260 day work year and 10 vacation days for Broad Residents that participate in the Broad Resident Program. One Broad Resident is hired.

The Board contracted with Bernard Komoroski to serve as Acting Principal, Allderdice effective March 26, 2007 to July 31,2007 at the per diem rate of $600.

3. April 25, 2007: Another Broad resident is hired.

May 23, 2007: Meade Johnson is hired as a marketing consultant ”to convene/direct PPS staff and other outside consultants/vendors for the development and implementation
of action plans/timelines” and “to provide strategic counsel to ensure brand-alignment visually and through consistent messaging.”

The Board also approves a contract with “Vanessa Orr, freelance writing consultant. The writing consultant's primary role is to provide parents/family with the appropriate understanding of the District's new Welcome Back approach for engaging families and community through back-to-school events and through a Welcome Back information package, which centrally houses start-of-the-year information in an easy to use format.”

The Board renews “the contract for the Institute for Learning (IFL) for the period of July 1, 2007, through June 30, 2008, in the amount of $700,200.”

On top of the IFL contract, funding is approved for $326,612 from the Fund for Excellence to support two post-doctoral fellows for a period of two years to provide ongoing, job-embedded training for principals and coaches.

GVA Oxford is hired to provide development services around the sales/disposal of twenty-four (24) identified closed buildings. Their activities would lead to the sale of zero buildings."

11 comments:

Questioner said...

Was GVA Oxford actually paid anything?

Re: the acting principal at Allderdice- to fill in the story, the Allderdice principal was fired after gift cards were apparently taken from the school. Was there anything problem w/ the contract for the acting principal hired in her place? Or is everey significant district contract being listed in these summaries even if the contract is not out of line in any way?

Anonymous said...

I don't think GVA was paid anything because the whole contract ended up bring much ado about nothing. It's significant because Roosevelt loved being among movers and shakers, whether they performed or not.

The Allderdice principal is on here only to point out how quickly the first had to be replaced after she just received an extension. #2 was not a problem. Roosevelt was warned that there were major problems before taking the extension for #1.

Anonymous said...

Is there anyone who has been hired at Central Office over the past 5-6 years who is capable of doing the job they were hired to do, or do each of them need to hire consultant after consultant to fill in all of the blanks? And without REAL results!?!

What is being revealed in this ongoing "how we got here" is absolutely OUTRAGEOUS!!!

And to watch PPS academic achievement continue in a downward slide while the state as a whole is improving is CRIMINAL!!

Anonymous said...

Is the Institute for Learning based at Pitt? If so, Judy Johnston a PPS retiree, works there. Every year she is hired as a consultant of some sort and PPS pays her $50,000 I believe if you check the minutes. She is supposed to be training/working with principals, going on learning walks, etc. for this tidy yearly sum. She was the "principal" of the original Schenley Teacher Center and later an Allderdice principal among other positions she held.

Anonymous said...

Dr. Richardson-Kemp also "worked" from home quite a bit.

Anonymous said...

It's very nice, if you are in the loop, to retire from PPS, get your pension, and then get "hired" as a consultant of some sort for big bucks. This makes for a great income!

Anonymous said...

The head of PELA would agree with you, anon. Great gig. Earn a pension and get $107K more for "consultation". Along the way, have the ego to make pronouncements about curriculum and to dress down teachers.
Amazing. This from an administrator whose "talents" were negligible, at best.
Guess it's amazing that she didn't become assistant superintendent.

Anonymous said...

Judy Johnson had an office across from the Principal at Schenley when it was the Teacher Center. She was a "director" for the Teacher Center, not the Principal. At Allderdice she was a principal. She works for LRDC (IFL) in a variety of roles, in addition to a consultant for PPS.

Anonymous said...

I agree with the over hiring of consultants. Sometimes there is no choice, some positions are very hard to fill due to the residency requirement. It is not an excuse, it is a fact. However, PPS hires too many layers of management, and too many consultants.

Anonymous said...

Other than Otuwa there were many others who were reimbursed moving expenses, including one or two folks who came here to participate in PELA. Can anyone confirm?

Anonymous said...

Roosevelt got at least 3 different relocation costs alone. One right before he left.