Dive Brief:
- Critics are questioning the ethics surrounding a one-year $420,750 contract between the New York City Department of Education and New Classrooms, a non-profit started by former department official Joel Rose.
- Advocacy group Class Size Matters and other critics argue that Rose not only promised to provide these services for free in prior deals, but that there are questionable ethics around making money off of public service.
- While working as an administrative officer for the NYC Department of Education, Rose created "The School of One," a personalized math program for middle-schoolers. After Rose left the department in 2011, he attempted to sell the program back to the city as New Classrooms.
Dive Insight:
What may be confusing is the fact that the city spent $9 million in private grants developing "The School of One," so it seems odd that it would have to pay an additional $420,750 to Rose in order to use it in schools after his departure. More specifically, there are rules in place that stop former officials from striking deals with their old departments. According to the New York Daily News, Rose was able to avoid this conflict of interest by removing himself from the negotiations of the deal.
Rose initially "promised a free software license to the city to last forever," the Daily News reports, and the deal also said New Classrooms could work in 50 schools. This fact is then juxtaposed with today's reality, where New Classrooms is only in six schools and the city must pay $191 per student that uses the program.
New Classrooms and the NYC Department of Education are denying any wrongdoing occurred with the contract, arguing that services beyond the "free software license" are what the new fees cover.
