Malloy nominates charter school corporate officer to Connecticut State Board of Education
by jonpelto
(Written by Jonathan Pelto and Wendy Lecker)
A Conflict of Interest: A situation in which a public official’s decisions are influenced by the official’s personal interests.
From 2009 to 2011 she served as community outreach director for Achievement First, the large charter school management company co-founded by Governor Malloy’s Commissioner of Education, Stefan Pryor.
In 2012, after a short stint as spokesperson for Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra, she went to work for the Jumoke Academy, the Hartford-based charter school.
In October 2012, the Jumoke Academy’s CEO, Michael Sharpe, named her to the post of Chief Operating Officer for FUSE (Family Urban Schools of Excellence), the new charter school management company that Jumoke created to expand and “replicate” its schools.
Meanwhile, in Bridgeport, $200,000 a year for a non-certified School Business Administrator
by jonpelto
Last week we heard Bridgeport’s Acting Superintendent of School, Paul Vallas, claim that certification was a waste of time for highly capable people like him.
Yet, in Connecticut, certification is required for nearly every administrative and teaching position in our public schools. As it says on the State Department of Education website, “Eligibility for certification will be determined based on review of all required application materials. The type and duration of the certificate issued will depend on proper documentation of your education and experience.”
But in Vallas’ world, certification is… well … optional…
For example, among the individuals that Paul Vallas brought to Bridgeport upon his arrival, via no-bid contracts, was a new Chief Financial Officer named Marlene Siegel. Siegel had previously worked as a deputy superintendent in New York City and continues to do
