Sunday, October 10, 2010

DOE hiring for highly confidential post of Portfolio Data Analyst

The most interesting aspect of this just-posted DOE job description is the extreme emphasis on confidentiality:

The Portfolio Data Analyst will be privy to confidential information, as either part of the regular assignment or on a project basis, and will participate in decisions related to the development and implementation of Portfolio Planning policies, plans and initiatives. This work includes such areas as enrollment projection development, which determines school budgets; match target development which determines the number of students that may be assigned to a school or program; pre-Kindergarten and Gifted and Talented program planning; class size planning and determinations; special classes, e.g., integrated co-teaching and self contained class, allocations; and planning for grade reconfigurations, relocations, school phase-outs and closures. Decisions regarding school and program changes impact school budgets and staffing requirements. The Data Analyst will have access to confidential information regarding these changes including the number of positions that will be impacted at each school. All of these planning exercises must remain confidential. (emphasis mine.)

Question: why so confidential? What are they trying to hide?

One would think that the DOE was recruiting for the CIA.

As usual, one suspects that the public will be denied this information to make it impossible for them to either contest bad decisions or discern manipulated data.

Indeed, all the data that the DOE bases their decisions on should be made readily available to the public in the first place.

So much for the transparency that the new governance law mandated as as part of the public process.

See also my suggestions for changes to the proposed regulations for school closings, co-locations and changes in school utilization, in which I urged full transparency; the DOE's summary of the public comments, and the very few significant changes that were made.

1 comment:

james boutin said...

Right - I think it's pretty clear why they'd want this person to keep many secrets.