Millions in DOE contracts awarded for buses even if they're not running & scoring guides for tests that may never be given
The DOE also agreed to pay 40% of the regular cost of busing for May and June when buses were idling because schools were closed, which is less than the 85% they originally planned to pay before we sounded the alarm last April, but is still far more than they had to hand over.
These contracts, like most others, contained a force majeure clause, which would allow all payments to be stopped in case of a pandemic, as a letter from the NYC Comptroller pointed out. The NY Post article doesn't reveal what the DOE paid for the six weeks in March and April when the schools were closed and buses weren't running, but one can assume DOE paid these companies the full contracted amount of nearly $200 million per month during this period.
As I am quoted in today's article, the decision of the DOE to guarantee these payments, starting this year through 2025, is irresponsible, given the fiscal crisis the city is facing which may lead to additional and grievous budget cuts to schools and school staffing.
Already today, the Mayor announced that in nine zip codes in Brooklyn and Queens, 100 public schools and 200 non-public schools (for which we also pay for busing) will be CONTINUE READING: NYC Public School Parents: Millions in DOE contracts awarded for buses even if they're not running & scoring guides for tests that may never be given