RSSNEWS FLASH: “Education Reform is a Victory for the Children” (as Bridgeport’s Paul Vallas Nails $1 million “education reform” contract from Illinois)
May 15
Achievement First/ConnCAN, Bridgeport, Charter Schools, Malloy, Steven Adamowski Achievement First, ConnCAN, Education Reform, Malloy, Paul Vallas, Stefan Pryor 26 Comments
The clarion call of the education reformers was “let’s not focus on benefiting the adults… it’s all about the children.”
So, with that in mind, it may come as a surprise that today’s Crain’s Chicago Business Journal is reporting that Bridgeport’s interim school superintendent, Paul Vallas, is headed to Illinois to collect a $1 million contract from the Illinois State Board of Education.
Who said “education reform” wasn’t good business.
And what pray tell will Paul Vallas be doing for $1 million?
Wait for it —- Vallas will be coordinating the state’s new intervention program in low-performing school districts. Hey, that was our idea!
Vallas, known for leaving a trail of destruction behind him, has already done his magic in Chicago once before. From there he went on to Philadelphia where he started the school closing frenzy that is now expected to shift 40 percent of all of Philadelphia’s public school students to charter schools. Then he was on to New Orleans where he literally fired every public school teacher to make room for a major “charter school experiment” and from there to Haiti (destruction unknown) and now, most recently, to Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Of course, news from Illinois is that another firm actually bid a lower price for that state contact, but things being what they are, Vallas ended up as the State Board of Education’s choice. I’m sure it doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that the man who is presently the Chairman of the State Board of Education was previously Chairman of the Chicago Board of Education when Vallas was superintendent there in Chicago.
There is no word from Bridgeport how this development might impact his $229,000 a year salary revamping the Bridgeport school system, but Crain’s is reporting that the Bridgeport job “is a short-term gig.”
But hey, this guy is probably so efficient that he can work full-time fixing Bridgeport’s schools and the low-performing schools in Illinois without breaking a sweat.
Also, recall that despite the Malloy Administration’s illegal attempt to take over the Bridgeport school system, Bridgeport’s Mayor and Fairfield County corporate executives were able to push out the former superintendent and bring in Vallas.
One of the leaders of the coup was none other than Andrew Boas, a long-time board member of both Achievement First and ConnCAN. Boas now serves as Chairman of Achievement First’s Bridgeport Academy.
You know Achievement First, the charter school management company that was formed by Stefan Pryor and friends and where Pryor served as a Director for the eight years before resigning to become Malloy’s education commissioner and his point person on education reform.
Wait, What? readers will also remember that Achievement First, Inc. is one of the biggest financial beneficiaries of Malloy’s “Education Reform” bill.
By the way, Malloy signed the bill into law today.
But as the reformers say —- those who support Connecticut’s public schools are for the status quo and only care about the interests of adults whereas the “reformers” know that this entire battle is really for the benefit of the children… just ask Paul Vallas.
