It’s hardly Gatesgate, but it does beg a key question.
Why does the School District of Hillsborough County need to spend $375,000 on an outside public relations firm to explain the $100 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to the public — and to its 17,000 teachers? The district has its own staff of communications specialists. If this doesn’t fall within its purview, priorities or skill set, something’s wrong.
“We don’t have time to do PR,” Communications director Steve Hegarty told the Tampa Tribune. Oh.
We’re told that the Gates folks were adamant in putting a premium on communicating what’s entailed in its seven-year commitment to change how county teachers are recruited, trained and paid. Of course, they want this explained effectively. Nine-figure overhauls require no less. But they never demanded it be put out for bid.
The 18-month contract is with the Tampa office of Hill & Knowlton, an excellent choice if you must choose. It will be interesting to see how this is invoiced. In addition to making the case for what the Gates grant is all about and why it is so important and necessary, will H&K also make the case for why they needed to be hired to spin it? Bet on it.
On a related Gates’ front, the district apparently did a good job getting the word out about the peer evaluation system and the need for peer evaluators. There are approximately 116 spots available. To date, more than 660 teachers have applied.