Barbara Louise Byrd–Bennett (born July 27, 1949)[citation needed] is an American educator, education administrator, former school superintendent and convicted felon. Byrd-Bennett is the former chief executive officer of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and the Cleveland Municipal School District. She was CEO of the Cleveland schools from 1998 to 2006.[2] From 2009 to 2011, she was the academic and accountability officer for the Detroit Public Schools system.[3] She was hired as the chief education advisor for CPS in April 2012[2] and then named CEO by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel six months later.[4][5]
Barbara Byrd–Bennett | |
|---|---|
| CEO of Chicago Public Schools | |
| In office October 11, 2012 – June 15, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Jean-Claude Brizard |
| Succeeded by | Jesse Ruiz (interim) |
| Superintendent of Cleveland Municipal School District | |
| In office September 23, 1998 – August 17, 2006 | |
| Preceded by | Louis J. Erste (interim)[1] |
| Succeeded by | Lisa Marie Ruda (interim)[1] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Barbara Louise Byrd July 27, 1949[citation needed] Harlem, New York, U.S. |
| Spouse |
Leonard Franklin
(m. 1969; div. 1977)Bruce Bennett (m. 1988) |
| Children | Nailah K. Byrd–Suggs |
| Alma mater | Long Island University (BA) New York University (MA) |
| Occupation |
|
| Signature |  |
She resigned from CPS in 2015 amid a bribery investigation,[6] which led to her pleading guilty to multiple charges.[7] In 2017, Byrd-Bennett was sentenced to 4 1/2 years at Federal Prison Camp, Alderson in West Virginia. She was released from prison and placed on home confinement in May 2020.
Background
editBorn in Harlem, Byrd-Bennett was the first of two daughters born to Helen Lee. Byrd-Bennett graduated from high school at age 15.[citation needed] After high school, Byrd-Bennett began studying at Long Island University where she received a Bachelors of Arts in 1969. In addition to her B.A., Byrd-Bennett has a Master’s of Science from Pace University, and a Master’s of the Arts from New York University.
Byrd-Bennett also holds honorary doctorate degrees from Cleveland State University, Baldwin Wallace College, John Carroll University and the University of Notre Dame.[8]
Federal criminal investigations and conviction
edit
Detroit Public Schools
editIn 2012, federal agents began investigating Barbara Byrd-Bennett’s role in a $40 million textbook contract that was awarded while she worked in Detroit.[9] The deal was similar to a later one in Chicago in that both involved companies for which Byrd-Bennett had previously worked.[9] No charges have resulted from the Detroit investigation.
Chicago Public Schools
editIn April 2015, Byrd-Bennett took a personal leave as Chicago Public Schools CEO during an investigation into a $20.5 million no-bid contract that had been awarded to SUPES Academy, a professional development organization she used to work with as a consultant.[10] She resigned in June 2015 and had been on paid leave since April.[6][11]
In October 2015, a federal grand jury in Illinois returned a 23-count indictment against Byrd-Bennett and two co-conspirators.[12][13]
On October 8, 2015, the US Attorney handling the case announced that Byrd-Bennett would plead guilty to charges that she set up a kickback scheme in which she steered no-bid CPS contracts worth more than $23 million to her former employer, SUPES Academy, which would pay her 10% of that amount. Her former boss, the owner of SUPES, also promised Byrd-Bennett a job after she left her CPS post, trust accounts funded with $127,000 for each of her twin grandsons,[14] and other perks. It was reported that the US Attorney's office found incriminating evidence against Byrd-Bennett, including an email to the SUPES owner that said, "I have tuition to pay and casinos to visit."[15][16] She had pushed parties aggressively to secure the corrupt deals.[17]
Byrd-Bennett pleaded guilty on October 13, 2015 in federal court. In exchange for her cooperation prosecutors agreed to request a sentence of 7 1/2 years in prison, which is below the federal sentencing guidelines. She agreed to delay her sentencing until after the charges against her co-defendants were resolved.[14][7] On April 28, 2017, she was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison.[18] On August 28, 2017, Byrd-Bennett began serving her sentence at Federal Prison Camp, Alderson, nicknamed "Camp Cupcake," in West Virginia. In May 2020, Byrd-Bennett was released from prison and was placed on home confinement.[19]
The CPS Inspector General's report for 2020 detailed more instances of Byrd-Bennet's misconduct, leading the district to act against several vendors and their executives. The report said "the Byrd-Bennett investigations revealed one of the most exceptional cases of an official’s abuse of public trust in CPS’s history."[20]
Personal life
editByrd-Bennett has been married twice and has one daughter. In 1969, She married Leonard Franklin in New York. She gave birth to their daughter, Naliah, in January 1972.[citation needed] Byrd-Bennett divorced Franklin in 1977.
Byrd-Bennett has been married to Bruce Bennett since 1988. Byrd-Bennett's daughter, a former prosecutor, has been the Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Clerk of Courts since 2015.[21][22][23]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Cleveland Metropolitan School District - FORMER CEOS, SUPERINTENDENTS
- ^ a b Patrick O'Donnell. "Former Cleveland schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett becomes CEO of Chicago Public Schools". The Plain Dealer. cleveland.com. October 12, 2012. Retrieved on March 22, 2013.
- ^ Ryan Beene. "Detroit Public Schools appoints Barbara Byrd-Bennett as chief academic officer. Crain's Detroit Business. April 24, 2009. Retrieved on March 22, 2013.
- ^ Mayor Emanuel Names Barbara Byrd-Bennett New CEO. Chicago Public Schools. October 12, 2012. Retrieved on March 22, 2013.
- ^ Whet Moser. "Barbara Byrd-Bennett Replaces Jean-Claude Brizard as Head of Chicago Public Schools". Chicago Magazine. October 12, 2012. Retrieved on March 22, 2013.
- ^ a b Juan Perez, Jr. "CPS chief Barbara Byrd-Bennett resigns amid federal criminal investigation". Chicago Tribune. June 1, 2015. Retrieved on June 2, 2015.
- ^ a b Meisner, Jason; Perez Jr., Juan (October 13, 2015). "Ex-CPS chief Barbara Byrd-Bennett pleads guilty, tearfully apologizes to students". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
- ^ WTTW - Barbara Byrd-Bennett (Chicago Public Schools CEO)
- ^ a b "FBI looked into Byrd-Bennett before she worked in Chicago | Chicago Sun-Times". Archived from the original on October 29, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
- ^ Juan Perez Jr. and Hal Dardick. "CPS chief Barbara Byrd-Bennett on leave amid federal probe". Chicago Tribune. April 17, 2015. Retrieved on June 2, 2015.
- ^ Perez, Juan Jr (1 June 2015). "CPS chief Barbara Byrd-Bennett resigns amid federal criminal investigation". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
- ^ "PDF: Read the Barbara Byrd-Bennett indictment". Chicago Tribune. October 8, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
- ^ Silets, Alexandra (October 12, 2015). "Examining the Indictment of Barbara Byrd-Bennett". Chicago Tonight. WTTW. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
- ^ a b O'Donnell, Patrick (October 13, 2015). "Barbara Byrd-Bennett pleads guilty; daughter Nailah Byrd never received cash from her fraud". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
- ^ Fitzpatrick, Lauren; Seidel, Jon; Mihalopoulos, Dan (October 8, 2015). "Feds: Byrd-Bennett said 'tuition to pay and casinos to visit' led to kickbacks". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on October 10, 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
- ^ Meisner, Jason; Perez Jr., Juan (October 8, 2015). "Former Chicago Public Schools chief to plead guilty to bribery scheme". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
- ^ "Warrant reveals just how hard Byrd-Bennett pushed for crooked deal | Chicago Sun-Times". Archived from the original on October 30, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
- ^ O'Donnell, Patrick (April 28, 2017). "Barbara Byrd-Bennett sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison for kickback scheme". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
- ^ Seidel, Jon. "Barbara Byrd-Bennett, crooked ex-CPS CEO, leaves prison", Chicago Sun-Times. May 6, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
- ^ "Chicago Board of Education, Office of Inspector General" (PDF). Fiscal Year 2020 Annual Report. January 1, 2021.
- ^ Naliah K. Byrd - Cuyahoga County Clerk of Courts
- ^ Cuyahoga County's clerk of courts paid more than counterparts, but county says $150,858 salary is justified - Updated Jan 30, 2019; Posted Jan 24, 2018
- ^ "About Us". cuyahogacounty.gov. Retrieved 2024-05-09.