NEWS

Poughkeepsie schools to pay 11-year-old speaker $6,500

Nina Schutzman
Poughkeepsie Journal
A crowd waits for the Poughkeepsie City School District board meeting to start Wednesday. One of the topics discussed was a $6,500 consultant fee for a young keynote speaker.

The Poughkeepsie City School District board majority agreed to pay an 11-year-old keynote speaker $6,500 — plus expenses — for a few hours of services.

Marley Dias, creator of the popular #1000BlackGirlBooks campaign, served as keynote speaker for district staff and hosted a student workshop during the Superintendent’s Conference Day on Tuesday.

The board voted 3-1 to retroactively approve Dias’ consultant agreement at Wednesday’s meeting. Trustee Felicia Watson voted against the agreement's ratification and trustee Gregory Charter was absent.

When asked why she voted against the contract, Watson said "$6,500 plus incidentals ... is exorbitant." Watson said she's conscientious of her fiscal responsibility to the district.

The decision sparked concern from some parents and taxpayers in the financially-strapped school district.

"I know there were a number of concerns raised regarding this," trustee Raymond Duncan said. "But ... we still have a line item (in the annual budget) for the superintendent's initiatives. If the superintendent chooses to spend money to bring a speaker in (within that line item budget), I'm going to (approve it) unless it's something I find totally unnecessary. We hire the superintendent to run the district."

At Wednesday's meeting, Superintendent Nicole Williams said that Dias' "resume is tremendous ... her work is world-renowned," and "we should not discriminate because she's 11 years old."

Dias gave an hour long speech to staff on Tuesday before leading an hour and half-long workshop for 50 students. It's unclear what the district plans on reimbursing her for travel expenses.

Dias, who has led a nationwide literacy initiative, is "inspiring young people," Williams said. "About 90 percent of our students are below reading level. We have to motivate our scholars to read." The girl was professional and presented a focused approach to motivate teachers and students with a message that was "just as powerful as any adult's."

But locals did not appear to be calling Dias' credentials into question — the issue was the expense itself.

Poughkeepsie is in a tougher financial spot than other local districts, with at least 80 percent of its students considered economically disadvantaged, according to Journal archives. The district, which has lower-than-average — but increasing — graduation rates, relies on state aid for more than 65 percent of its budget and officials have said it doesn't get nearly enough financial help to serve its students.

Like other districts, Poughkeepsie has cut jobs, frozen salaries and increased class sizes in an effort to balance budgets. The district regularly struggles to close multi-million-dollar budget gaps. Parents have long complained that district schools lack librarians.

Dias is a "lovely girl," but "we always talk about ... that we're financially strapped," said resident Gregory Melton at Wednesday's meeting.

Williams said the district uses a professional development feedback form to gather data, which is under assessment now. And "prior to my arrival as superintendent ... on average, keynote speakers ... (cost) $10,000 on average."

Dias’ fee was paid through Title I funds, according to the resolution. Her consultant contract had not yet been publicly shared Wednesday night because of legal issues associated with child performance rules, officials said.

The Title I program, part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, provides funds to state and districts to improve the education of “disadvantaged” students.

“A district must submit to the state education agency a plan for how it will use the funds to improve academic achievement among disadvantaged students,” according to the Formula Fairness Campaign. “The districts have wide discretion in determining how the money is to be used.”

Nina Schutzman: nschutzman@poughkeepsiejournal.com, 845-451-4518, Twitter: @pojonschutzman