TRENTON — A private consultant is being paid $60,000 by a California philanthropic foundation to help reorganize the New Jersey Department of Education, acting education Commissioner Christopher Cerf said during today’s Assembly Budget Committee hearing. Asked by Assemblywoman Joan Quigley (D-Hudson) if the department had hired such a consultant, Cerf said he was working with someone on a part-time...
TRENTON — A private consultant is being paid $60,000 by a California philanthropic foundation to help reorganize the New Jersey Department of Education, acting education Commissioner Christopher Cerf said during today’s Assembly Budget Committee hearing.
Asked by Assemblywoman Joan Quigley (D-Hudson) if the department had hired such a consultant, Cerf said he was working with someone on a part-time basis, describing the man as a "friend" who is "very well respected" in education reform circles across the country.
After the hearing, Cerf confirmed the adviser is William Cox, who owns consulting company DSA Capital, state Treasury records show.
The Los Angeles-based Broad Foundation is paying DSA Capital to lead a team of consultants and produce "a high-level plan" for the Department of Education, DSA’s three-month contract shows.
Cerf is a 2004 graduate of the Broad Foundation’s superintendent’s academy, and it is common practice for the foundation to financially support its own as they transition to new leadership roles, DOE spokesman Alan Guenther said.
The Broad Foundation, a nonprofit group, gives money in support of education reform, primarily in urban districts. It is financially sustained by the $2.1 billion personal fortune of philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad. The foundation has also given grants totaling $3.5 million to support Newark schools. One of those grants funded an audit of the Newark Public Schools.
After the hearing, legislators and education advocates questioned the need for such work and the method by which the contract was awarded. Because a philanthropic organization is funding Cox’s consulting, the traditional requirement of public bidding for state contracts does not apply.
Budget Committee chairman Louis Greenwald said he supports philanthropic contributions to the state, but said the details of such contributions must be made public.
"I don’t know why we are hiding behind this person," Greenwald (D-Camden) said. "If he is of that much value to the state, leading legislators like myself should be aware of his work and who is paying for it."
Thinking critically about the Department of Education’s structure and capacity is important, said Bruce Baker, an associate professor at Rutgers University’s Graduate School of Education. But Baker questioned Cox’s credentials to lead such an effort.
"Why wouldn’t they draw up an RFP and bid this to the major firms that do this stuff, recognized firms?" Baker said. "Our public agencies and those who draw on the public dollar have an obligation to be transparent."
Cox’s consulting firm will receive $60,000 from the Broad Foundation for work performed between mid-February and mid-May of this year, according to the contract. In exchange, his consulting team will make recommendations to Cerf about "key issues" including high school graduation standards, teacher effectiveness, and failing schools.
Cox could not be reached for comment.
DSA Capital also consults for Wireless Generation, the firm the state paid $500,000 to review and help prepare its failed Race to the Top applications, a spokeswoman for Wireless Generation confirmed. Cox did not work on the Race to the Top application.
David Sciarra, executive director of the Education Law Center, said taxpayers spent $1.2 million on a Department of Education review performed by KPMG in 2007. The state should first re-examine the findings of this study, he said, and if another analysis is required, a consultant should be selected publicly.
"This sub-terrainian, clandestine network of relationships whereby people are brought in secretly to undertake critical activities related to the department needs to end," Sciarra said. "From this point on, the department needs to fully disclose its initiatives. It’s the only way to build public confidence in the outcomes."