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Comptroller Finds Discrepancies in Tutoring Bills

WNYC Newsroom

NEW YORK, NY February 09, 2007 —New York paid a tutoring company almost 9 times more than expected, according to a review by the City Comptroller.

REPORTER: Bill Thompson's office found a $7.6 million contract with the company Platform Learning actually resulted in bills totaling $63 million since 2004. Thompson says the payment is puzzling.

THOMPSON: We're going to try and dig deeper into this to see where this money went, but the fact that the Department of Education doesn't know with certainty, didn't know how much had been expended is a cause of major concern.

REPORTER: The CEO of Platform Learning, Gene Wade, says many more students signed up for tutoring than initially estimated - and the city doesn't dispute this. Low performing schools are required to offer tutoring under the federal No Child Left Behind Law. Platform Learning came under scrutiny last year after an investigation found its representatives were offering schools money in exchange for getting more students to sign up for its services.


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