Reply #33: It is hard to fathom. 982 million to consultants.

[madfloridian]

"The Department of Education, meant to be one of the defining triumphs of Michael Bloomberg's mayoral career, has become a "fiscal black hole" with a serious consultant problem to the tune of $982 million, according to Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer. That title comes after yet another consultant-related financial scandal came out of the department."

More:

..."But maybe it should just stop with the consultants all together? In the light of this latest development, Stringer has been on a press rampage regarding the massive amounts of cash the city is spending on education consultants while threatening to fire teachers. According to Stringer the DOE's spending on outside consultants soared 455% from 2004 to 2012, rising from $177 million to $982.3 million.

For an example of what exactly these consultants are doing, look no further than William Howatt, one of the consultants hired by Raab and implicated in Condon's investigation. For less than a year's work Howatt received $374,000 to help the DOE's mid-level managers by "improving their ability to adapt to change." Which we're totally sure he did...from his home in Nova Scotia where he billed the majority of his hours from. Jeez, where can we get one of these consulting gigs!"

http://gothamist.com/2011/05/25/doe_spends_nearly_1b_on_consultants.php