Symes contrast ‘THE COUNCIL CCCLTURAL APRS, LRRARIES TAL OTT OF AND INTERGROUP RELATIONS SEWYOR, NY 7 THE CITY OF NEW YORK pee eee axe ag} 918707 HELEN ROSENTHAL Covenstcats axb INVESTIGATIONS Miexertai@eouncline COUNCIL MEMBER November 14, 2014 Carmen Farifia Chancellor NYC Department of Education Tweed Courthouse 52 Chambers Street New York, NY 10007 Dear Chancellor Fariita: It was terrific to see you at the Education Town Hall. Thank you for taking the time to listen to the concems of our parents. I am writing as Chair of the Committee on Contracts, regarding transparency of DOE’s contracts. Specifically my concer is about the time that the public and the Panel for Education Policy (PEP) have to review the proposed contracts and supporting ‘material, prior to a vote. [have admired and supported your call for more outreach and communication between teacher and school administration and their public school fami hope that same philosophy of communication and openness extends to the contract review processes for the PEP and the public. It is my understanding that in years past, both the contract name and the RA for the contract were posted on the DOE website for the public to review two weeks prior {o a vote date, However, this year, the PEP voted to approve at least one contract, the School of One/ New Classrooms, and is, considering another, Questar, without the RA being posted two weeks prior to the PEP vote. The public will not have an opportunity to adequately review the documentation and back up ‘materials for those contracts. While the Questar contract is a three year, S6M contract for Gifted and Talented Testing, and on the agenda for the November 25" PEP meeting, the RA is not included. The RA material is the meat and bones of the contract, including material on the bid process and company information—it cannot adequately be reviewed if posted the night before a meeting. That, unfortunately, was the process for the School of One contract approved by the PEP this pastSeptember. In no way can posting important information (the RA) about a contract the night before a vote be an acceptable level of transparency. I would like to request that you please send my office the current procedures for posting contracts and their corresponding RAs prior to PEP meetings. I would also request a review of the procedures to ensure that the public has adequate time to review documentation for each contract being reviewed and voted on by the PEP. Again, thank you for your attention to the schools, children, and parents in my district. We are grateful for your thoughtful leadership. Sincerely, Helen Posenctha) Cc: New York City Council Member Daniel Dromm, Chi Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer Fred Baptiste, PEP member; Brooklyn Representative T. Elzora Cleveland, PEP member; Contracts Committee Deborah Dillingham, PEP member; Queens Representative Norm Fruchter, PEP member Vanessa Leung, PEP; Chair Kamillah Payne-Hanks, PEP member; Staten Island Representative Lori Podvesker, PEP member Robert Powell, PEP member, Bronx Representative Robert Reffkin, PEP; Contract Committee Robert Soto- Carrion, PEP; Contracts Committee Laura Zingmond, PEP member; Manhattan Representative D. Miguelina Zorilla-Aristy, PEP member ; Committee on Education