Detroit School Board sues Bobb for illegal payments from Broad Foundation.

[madfloridian]

Robert Bobb is the Detroit school board's emergency financial manager. Governor Granholm defends his payment from the Broad (rhymes with toad) Foundation. Mixing public and private....wrong thing to do in a public school system.

From the Schools Matter blog:

Bonus Bobb (Broad Alum) Sued by Detroit School Board for Illegal Payments From Broad Foundation

The Detroit Public School Board unanimously voted Monday night to file a second lawsuit against Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb, saying $145,000 in private foundation support he receives under his new contract is unlawful.

"It's a conflict of interest," said DPS board member LaMar Lemmons.

Bobb's supplemental income from private foundations increased from $84,000 last year to $145,000 this year, under a one-year contract extension signed by the governor and state superintendent this month. The only philanthropic donor publicly identified is the Broad Foundation, whose support of charter schools has stirred controversy among some members of the DPS community.

"This is more than putting the fox in charge of the hen house, it's serving up the hens to be eaten by this guy," said George Washington, an attorney representing the teachers and community activist groups who have spearheaded the lawsuit and who urged the board Monday to join them.

..."The board filed suit against Bobb in the summer, alleging he overstepped his authority by making academic decisions for the district's 86,000 students. That case is ongoing.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm supports the efforts of private philanthropic foundations to keep Bobb in Detroit. Other foundation donors will be identified once their agreements are finalized, her office has said.

Here is more on Bobb's bonuses:

Bobb's raise sends wrong message

FREE PRESS EDITORIAL WRITER

Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb just got an $81,000 raise, boosting his pay under a one-year contract extension to $425,000. Bobb has become a rock star in Michigan for taking on waste, fraud and corruption, but whether he’s worth that paper is practically irrelevant. A raise that, by itself, amounts to more than what teachers make sends the wrong message to a district that is being asked — rightfully so — to make sacrifices and concessions. Leaders lead by example.

Most of Bobb’s increase will come from private foundations, but that doesn’t change overall perceptions much, while raising a new set of ethical concerns. It’s Management and Politics 101: Appearances Matter. That’s why savvy CEOs of struggling companies don’t take big raises while laying off workers or asking for concessions. It’s why no politician in his or her right mind would propose a pay increase now for public officials.

[madfloridian]

1. More: "Bobb's pay stirs ethics controversy"

http://www.detnews.com/article/20100304/SCHOOLS/3040389/1410/METRO01/Bobb-s-pay-stirs-ethics-controversy

"Detroit -- Community and union activists Wednesday raised questions about influence that foundations that are paying more than a third of Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb's salary may have on his decisions. The philanthropic organizations, some of which haven't been identified, increased their share of Bobb's $425,000 pay from $84,000 in his first year on the job to $145,000 for his second year. His new contract, revealed Tuesday in The Detroit News, shows his base salary from Detroit Public Schools increased from $260,000 to $280,000.

Such agreements create a situation where private foundations could have "undue private influence over Robert Bobb's public duties," said leaders from the DPS Board Advisory Committee and the Coalition to Restore Hope to DPS, who called for the contract to be rewritten over ethics and other concerns.

"If the Chamber of Commerce or the AFL-CIO paid one-third of the governor's salary, everyone would see the inappropriate nature of the arrangement," Wes Ganson, chairman of the Board Advisory Committee, and Sandra Hines, co-chairwoman of the Coalition to Restore Hope in DPS, said in a joint statement.

Liz Boyd, the spokeswoman for Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who appointed Bobb in 2009, rejected the notion of ethical concerns. "It's apples and oranges," she said.

"We are talking about philanthropic organizations that have a strong commitment to education," Boyd said."

From The Detroit News: http://www.detnews.com/article/20100304/SCHOOLS/3040389/1410/METRO01/Bobb-s-pay-stirs-ethics-controversy#ixzz0hjywAf2L

Not apples and oranges at all. He is a position to influence school decisions to suit the private unknown companies that pay him.