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Minneapolis to Let Private Firm Manage Schools

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THE WASHINGTON POST

The Minneapolis School Board has voted to turn over management of all city schools to a private consulting firm in a novel arrangement believed to be the first of its kind in the country.

Other cities, including Baltimore, have hired outside consultants to operate a few schools, but the attempt by Minneapolis to change school management is the most sweeping to date. The board voted Wednesday night to hire Public Strategies Group Inc. to manage its 75 schools and $220-million budget.

Peter Hutchinson, president of the group and an expert in running public organizations, would replace the school superintendent if the state, as expected, grants a waiver to allow a non-educator to head the school system.

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“There is a feeling here in Minneapolis and all over the country that the current bureaucratic system of running a school is antiquated,” said Babak Armajani, chief executive officer for the consulting firm.

The Minneapolis plan differs from other attempts to have private firms run one or more public schools because all of the city’s 44,000 students would be involved and because the school board would continue to set school policy.

Under the proposal, Public Strategies is to receive a flat fee, and it will not earn more even if it operates the system less expensively. In fact, Hutchinson has agreed that he should not be paid unless certain student performance goals are met.

“A lot of schools are trying the same old approach, but it’s not working,” said Barb Nicol, spokeswoman for the Minneapolis schools. “We’re saying, ‘Let’s try a new approach.’ ”

Details of the contract, including Hutchinson’s salary and what student achievement goals must be met, are being negotiated, Nicol said.

Minneapolis has been without a permanent head of its schools since May, when Robert Ferrara resigned following criticism of financial mismanagement.

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Nationwide, many school board members and parents have expressed frustration with expensive and inefficient school bureaucracies.

“I’m very excited,” said Ann Kaari, the Minneapolis School Board chairwoman. “We are taking a new look at how we deliver services to kids.”

Hutchinson, 43, is a former Minnesota commissioner for finance and has been acting as a financial consultant to the school board since February.

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