9486 in the collection
Schools Official Is Chided About Soliciting Donation
Chided. Christoper Cerf
reveals that he's a fellow who has no regrets
and never even says he's sorry.
By Elissa Gootman
New York City investigators have found that a
deputy schools chancellor solicited charitable
contributions from executives of Edison
Schools, an Education Department vendor for
whom he once worked.
The city’s Conflicts of Interest Board closed
the matter without taking action against the
deputy chancellor, Christopher Cerf. But in a
letter to Mr. Cerf, the board’s chairman,
Steven B. Rosenfeld, said that Mr. Cerf had
used his city position to benefit the Darrow
Foundation, a nonprofit group on whose board he
sits. The letter also provided a “formal
reminder of the importance of strict compliance
with the city’s conflicts of interest law.”
Mr. Rosenfeld’s letter referred Mr. Cerf to
several sections of the City Charter. One of
them states that public servants should not
attempt to use their positions to obtain
privileges for themselves “or any person or
firm associated” with them. Another says that
public servants should not solicit charitable
donations from “persons or firms likely to come
before the officials’ agencies or be affected
by their official actions.”
“In this instance, it appears that you were
aware that Edison Schools was likely to come
before the D.O.E. and/or to be affected by your
official actions on behalf of the D.O.E.,” Mr.
Rosenfeld said in the letter.
Mr. Cerf was president of Edison before joining
the Education Department, first as a
consultant, then, in December 2006, as a deputy
chancellor. Mr. Cerf’s relationship with the
company, now called EdisonLearning, first made
headlines in February 2007, when he assured a
citywide parents’ group that he had “zero”
financial interest in Edison. He later
acknowledged that he had relinquished his
equity stake in the company only the day
before.
After that statement, Richard J. Condon, the
special commissioner of investigation for the
city school system, began investigating Mr.
Cerf’s ties to Edison. His findings were sent
to Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein on Aug. 22,
2007. Like most of Mr. Condon’s findings that
do not result in arrests, they were not made
public. Mr. Condon declined to comment; his
report was released to The New York Times under
the Freedom of Information Law.
According to the report, Mr. Cerf sent an e-
mail message to an official with Edison or
Liberty Partners, its majority owner, on Feb.
7, 2007. In that message, he relinquished “any
and all equity interest” in Edison and
solicited the donation, writing, “I would be
most grateful if you were to make, entirely at
your discretion, a charitable contribution to
the Darrow Foundation in recognition of this
voluntary relinquishment of this interest.”
In an interview on Thursday, Mr. Cerf
emphasized that the Conflicts of Interest Board
had taken no action against him. He provided a
copy of the board’s letter, which was issued to
him on Oct. 3, 2007.
In the interview, Mr. Cerf said that he had
written the e-mail message to an official at
Liberty Partners whom he knew and with whom he
shared an interest in the outdoors, but he
would not name the official. The Darrow
Foundation, which is based in Maine, supports
wilderness canoeing programs and outdoor
education for young people.
“If you’re asking me do I have any regrets, I
will tell you absolutely not,” Mr. Cerf said.
“I did absolutely what I was supposed to do. I
disclosed everything; the Conflicts of Interest
Board gave it the back of its hand.”
“Raising money for a not for profit, tell me,
what’s wrong with that?” he added.
“There is nothing here other than an
investigation that exonerated me. The only real
story here is that I was put through a rather
tortuous experience.”
Officials said Edison or its subsidiaries had
three contracts with the department, one of
which has expired. Mr. Cerf has recused himself
from all matters relating to the company.
According to Mr. Condon’s report, the chairman
and chief executive of Liberty Partners, did
pledge to make a $60,000 donation, but did not
pay it because Mr. Cerf, after being questioned
by investigators, withdrew his request.
In a statement released on Thursday, Mr. Klein
said: “When this case was closed more than a
year ago, the Conflict of Interest Board found
that no action was required. I consider this
matter closed and look forward to continuing my
work with Chris, who has made, and continues to
make, an enormous contribution to our city and
our schoolchildren.”
— Elissa Gootman
New York Times
2008-12-05
INDEX OF OUTRAGES
Pages: 380
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