Crime & Safety
Contract Between Chicago Public Schools, SUPES Academy Suspended
Amid FBI investigation, schools attempt to sever ties with Wilmette company awarded $20.5 million no-bid contract.
The $20.5 million no-bid contract between Chicago Public Schools and Wilmette-based SUPES Academy has been suspended, and the organization is not happy about it.
“We were disappointed to learn this morning that the Board of Education of the City of Chicago has suspended our contract to provide leadership training and mentorship to Chicago Public Schools principals, pending its investigation,” SUPES spokesman Dennis Culloton wrote in a statement published by the Chicago Sun-Times.
CPS gave the company its 30 days notice to cease work in training principals. The decision comes a week after the contract became part of a federal investigation and five days after CPS CEO Barbara Byrd Bennett, a former SUPES employee, took a paid leave of absence.
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“We stand behind the training we provide, bolstered by the positive feedback we have received from these same principals,” Culloton said. “We are committed to continuing our great work with CPS once this review is completed.”
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