$1.2 Million Spent with Pacific Educational Group
Friday, 30 October 2009 07:40 Last Updated on Sunday, 01 November 2009 13:08
More data practices requests are in and we're up to $1,189,003 that's been spent- or will be spent this school year- with Pacific Educational Group (PEG). (UPDATE per comment: This is the total amount uncovered, so far, by districts throughout the state, I'll get a breakdown posted soon.)
There is more out there, and I'll keep you posted as more schools are found spending money with this sales company.
The best part? Nobody seems to have a clue how PEG got here. There are no RFP's, no RFB's, no sales proposals promising x, y, z results, just a ton of money spent on a company who comes in to facilitate "courageous conversations". What a scam.
It's been 2 months now since I asked Melissa Krull, Superintendent at EP Schools, two very simple questions: (from an email dated, August 27th)
Can you tell me what was spent for your professional development and conferences in 2008-2009?
I see you're speaking at a conference in Sept ("The Summit for Courageous Conversation"), is that reimbursed by the School District? Have you participated with this specific conference organization before?
I have a blog and I'm working on a piece about this organization.
A day later I requested this information via a formal Data Practices Request:
I'd like to request all data pertaining to the attendance of any Eden Prairie schools staff and administration to the "Summit for Courageous Conversations" conference, Oct 2009, in Baltimore.
I still don't have an answer.
It's been 13 days since I asked this simple question of Patricia Magnuson:
Now that the Summit for Courageous Conservations has concluded, can you please send me the names of who attended from EP Schools? What was the final cost?
No answer.
Every other school district who was asked has provided me the list of their attendees and the cost to their district, except Eden Prairie. Could they be embarrassed that they sent our Superintendent and a School Board Member on our dime to sit at a conference where they are put in a room to say the "N" word over and over again because THAT is going to help the district teach black children better? (See Courageous Conversations Agenda Page 17) Could they be embarassed that they were addressed by keynote speaker Gloria Ladson-Billings,friend of Bill Ayers and radical education reformer? No, I doubt it. They just don't feel the need to respond to me, it's as simple as that. Not responding in a "prompt" manner to Data Practices requests is actually against Minnesota State Statute, they know that too and they don't care. After all, I'm just a conservative blogger.
The district dumps money into a wholly unproven diversity training scam where top-level employees and board members get to sit around a table playing "20 questions" with a $3,000/day consultant, while high school lunchroom ladies and part-time elementary school recess attendants are forced to attend mandatory monthly diversity training sessions, based on PEG's consulting, (they get paid to be there folks, part of the hidden cost of all of this nonsense.)
The language of PEG has seeped into the EP Schools, whether's it's Krull's welcome letter in the school calendar or outgoing Board Member Jim Mortenson's endorsement of School Board Candidates, "racial predictability" is completely accepted as fact here in Eden Prairie Schools. Perhaps the motto of the schools should change from "Educating for Sucess in a Diverse and Changing World" to "Welcome to EP Schools, If You're black, We'll Predict your Success!"
What a waste of money.
