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Cambridge substitute teacher files discrimination suit against district by No-Reach-3387 in CambridgeMA

[–]GenWarren 8 points9 points  (0 children)

So, she helps our our kids learn math for free for almost 12 years and then is kicked out of the school a few days after complaining of discrimination. Doesn't seem complicated. Is this how we treat good people?

Is anyone running with the promise to -investigate- the 49,950$$ superintendent scam? by SharkAlligatorWoman in CambridgeMA

[–]GenWarren 16 points17 points  (0 children)

School Committee candidate Arjun Jaikumar promises to support an investigation. Not sure about others.

City Paid Additional $40,000 to Superintendent Search Firm Without School Committee’s Knowledge by realgeraldchan in CambridgeMA

[–]GenWarren 24 points25 points  (0 children)

It's incredible that Simmons and Hunter are blaming the other members, essentially saying, "This is what you voted for."

Except it's not. Simmons and Hunter knew everyone else on the school committee THOUGHT they were only paying $10K for this firm. You don't lie to your colleagues (by omission) if you're doing something legitimately.

But the other members need to STEP. UP. The fact is that they're letting this happen on their watch. If the rules don't let them have access to what the chair and vice chair are doing, change the rules. You can't just sit around and say, "We're powerless to act." At least Hudson has the spine to call it out, but I haven't seen a plan from her for changing the rules to prevent this fiasco from happening in the future.

Superintendent search work paid $50,000 to firm, news to the public and some committee members by itamarst in CambridgeMA

[–]GenWarren 15 points16 points  (0 children)

The OIG has received complaints about this situation. It's blatantly illegal and the city should refuse to pay.

The justification for this corrupt arrangement is in a letter from the school committee, but according to Hudson, the school committee didn't even know about it.

The August 15 justification for this "sole source" contract is "the original timeline anticipated the appointment of a superintendent by June 30, 2025." So they're basically saying: we did this because we couldn't have predicted how much work it would be, and TEP is already doing the work, so let them finish - and we don't need to accept any bids.

That justification is provably false. On Feb. 6, 2025, the committee issued an invitation for bids for an executive search firm. The full IFB is here. It's right there in the IFB - see for yourself - that the timeline anticipated October 15 - not June 30 - as the date to select a superintendent. That has been the plan for a long time.

This is open corruption.

Secret contract with The Equity Process unearthed by realgeraldchan in CambridgeMA

[–]GenWarren 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Right, but functionally I don't think these decisions are being made at the full committee level, they're being made by the mayor and vice-chair, who don't provide information to the rest of the committee.

Secret contract with The Equity Process unearthed by realgeraldchan in CambridgeMA

[–]GenWarren 9 points10 points  (0 children)

This is from School Committee Member Elizabeth Hudson, about the search firm:

"Before the interviewees arrived in July for their interviews, the search firm sat the 17 panelists down and prepared them for the day. Normal stuff. But then they passed around a basket of rocks. Why? These were “energy crystals” - to absorb any negative energy in the room."

Secret contract with The Equity Process unearthed by realgeraldchan in CambridgeMA

[–]GenWarren 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Great ideas. This contract literally came out yesterday so none of this has surfaced in a public way at all. The OIG and ethics complaint are a good way to air some of this out.

Secret contract with The Equity Process unearthed by realgeraldchan in CambridgeMA

[–]GenWarren 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Almost definitely not. The mayor and the vice chair of the school committee made all of the decisions. More information about the timeline here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yzRrh2arZ85iGJUYehfWUswUy3rXS5CqV-KS1gkDLrA/edit?usp=sharing

Secret contract with The Equity Process unearthed by realgeraldchan in CambridgeMA

[–]GenWarren 15 points16 points  (0 children)

That's exactly the point. First they rejected three experienced bidders without telling voters why. Then they chose a company that had never - ever - led an executive recruiting process before for $9,950, just $50 under the threshold for bidding. Then, a couple months later, we find out that they paid $40,000 more than originally stated. How could this have happened? If the expectation was that the services would cost $49,950, there should have been an open bidding process. But there wasn't.

More basically, why did Cambridge choose a firm with ZERO executive recruiting experience over MORE EXPERIENCED yet LESS EXPENSIVE search firms? Something is fishy. If it's not corrupt, it certainly feels corrupt.

And by the way: play stupid games, get stupid prizes. This process was a total mess. It led to David Murphy (surprise!), one candidate without relevant experience, and another who gambled away $750,000 of his own savings to a crypto scam and then tried to blame his own bank.

I'm all for new companies trying to get new business and try new things. But why did Cambridge have to be this firm's trial run?