Dive Brief:
- Acting Chicago Public Schools CEO Jesse Ruiz announced that the district is suspending payment on a costly $20.5 million, no-bid contract with SUPES Academy at the center of a federal investigation.
- While Ruiz supports stopping payment on the controversial deal with the leadership development firm, he stands by his 2013 vote to enter the contract to begin with. At the time, he was vice president of the Chicago Board of Education.
- Ruiz is stepping in for CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett, who announced a leave of absence due to the investigation. Though she hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing, federal investigators are looking into her relationship for SUPES, as she previously served as a consultant for the company.
Dive Insight:
Ruiz says that while the contract was in fact a no-bid deal, the district had not done anything wrong. There is a special procedure for “sole-source” contracts, and when all six members of the board voted to approve the "relatively unique” agreement, they had gone through all the extra steps required.
“Given the information we had at that point in time, and given the information that we were provided as board members, I stand by that vote,” Ruiz was quoted in the Chicago Tribune. "Part of the role of any board is to second-guess management, challenge management. We did that.” He says that they did ask questions about Byrd-Bennett's former employment with SUPES, but felt satisfied with the answers they received.
CPS has already paid SUPES Academy over $12 million since entering the contract in 2013.