DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Three months into his role leading Des Moines Public Schools. Ian Roberts asked the district board for emergency approval of the $116,000 contract.
The agreement to provide training on “culturally responsive coaching” needed to be approved within days, the superintendent said. But the district’s procurement manager discovered that one contract had been assigned to a company that marketed Roberts as a consultant and speaker, sold his books and helped raise his profile, an Associated Press investigation found.
Treasury officials warned Roberts that the deal with Kansas City-based Lively Paradox constituted a conflict of interest, and Roberts canceled a special board meeting he had requested in September 2023.
Since Roberts was arrested by immigration officials last month, the public has been faced with questions about how he came to be the longtime supervisor. No permission How to work in the US History of criminal charges and touts Forged credentials.
The Associated Press found that as Roberts’ profile in the education field grew at a time when many organizations were championing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, her connections with Lively Paradox and its founder Nicole Price proved fruitful. The investigation revealed that Price was awarded tens of thousands of dollars in contracts by the school district where Roberts held a leadership position, blurring the line between public and private work.
The Associated Press reviewed local records, court filings, books and marketing materials published by Lively Paradox, who met Roberts during a chance encounter at the airport a decade ago, and Price.
Although Roberts remains in federal custody, he maintains that his outside work contributes to education reform. His lawyer declined comment.
Months after Des Moines city officials blocked a deal with Lively Paradox, the district paid Lively Paradox $6,476 in consulting and travel expenses for Price’s work facilitating a two-hour team-building exercise at a December 2023 school board retreat, records show. The amount could have been approved by Mr. Roberts without board approval, and the board was not aware of staff concerns about conflicts of interest at the time, the spokesperson said.
Mr. Roberts’ original resume for his Des Moines job stated that he was an executive leadership coach at Lively Paradox, traveling from district to district across four states since its inception. Price co-authored two books with Roberts and wrote the foreword for another, promoting him as a former Olympian and inspirational educator known for school reform.
“I think Dr. Roberts is one of the greatest leaders I’ve ever met,” Price said in an interview after Roberts’ arrest. illegally possessed a firearm. “Able to remain calm under pressure, lead with empathy, focus with a sense of purpose, and lead others.”
When Roberts changed districts, Price’s job continued.
When Roberts moved on, Price and Lively Paradox followed suit, acquiring new clients, the Associated Press reported.
Price’s clients include a variety of companies and government agencies, according to her resume. Her district’s clientele was mostly limited to Kansas and Missouri, and later to out-of-state districts where Roberts held leadership roles.
In a 2021 video posted to Instagram, Roberts joined Price to celebrate the fifth anniversary of The Lively Paradox. She recalled that when Mr. Roberts was network director, he targeted St. Louis public schools for the new company’s operations.
“Your district was one of those where I thought, ‘Okay, we’ve got to get them as customers,'” Price said. “But I went through the same RFP process as everyone else.”
Roberts said his district position and partnership with Lively Paradox make St. Louis the first district to “take charge of efforts to make St. Louis a culturally responsive district.”
It’s unclear how much the school district paid Price, but records show Price was paid several thousand dollars at a time for a 2017 presentation. According to her resume, she also conducted a workshop there in February 2018.
After Roberts became administrator of Aspire Public Schools in Oakland, the public charter school system paid Price at least $8,300 for services, according to spending reports covering part of 2019.
According to his resume, Price provided leadership training in the Millcreek Township School District in Pennsylvania in 2020 and 2021, where Roberts served as superintendent.
She said there was no wrongdoing in Roberts’ work with the district, “just a long-standing commitment to mission-driven work and empathetic leadership.” Price said he provided one free training session to Des Moines school leaders, but the district has confirmed that it will take place in August 2023.
St. Louis Public Schools, Aspire Public Schools and Millcreek Township School District did not respond to requests for comment.
Roberts and Price sign partnership after meeting at airport
Price recalled that Roberts was “immaculately dressed” when they met at a North Carolina airport in 2014. She was working at a leadership firm at the time, focusing on diversity and inclusion.
Price credits Roberts with showing her how education differs from the corporate fields she has worked in. They discussed his belief that educational leaders should give unproductive subordinates every opportunity to grow rather than fire them.
Price said he remains in touch. In 2016, she was laid off and founded Lively Paradox, in part to focus on providing training to urban school leaders.
Roberts was with her from the beginning. In 2017, they co-authored “The Power of Seven Second Chances,” a vision for managing schools with compassion.
They later co-authored Dangerous Indifference: The Case for Culturally Responsive Leadership, which called on leaders to embrace and understand differences. Price wrote the foreword for Roberts’ next book, Radical Empathy.
Price said the books, which are self-published and available for purchase online, “didn’t sell very well,” primarily because Roberts ordered them to be distributed at conferences.
She said the two worked closely together for years to mentor school leaders and transform the organization.
It’s unclear how much money Roberts received from outside sources. Lively Paradox is advertising a two-day “high performance workshop” for $38,975, a keynote for $15,000, and a coaching package for $9,995.
Their collaboration continues while Roberts is in prison. Price said that on Sept. 29, Roberts’ wife asked him to move forward with a book called “Unshakeable,” which is a collection of Roberts’ moving messages to Des Moines schools.
Price said she was shocked by his arrest because she didn’t know anything about his immigration status.
Mr. Roberts was flagged for a conflict of interest.
Board members knew about Roberts’ outside work when he was hired in Des Moines in 2023. His contract includes an annual salary of $286,716 this year and, with the approval of the board president, allows him to “occasionally engage in consulting, speaking engagements, writing, speaking, and other professional activities.”
The only topic of discussion at the Sept. 29, 2023, meeting was Roberts’ recommendation to leverage federal funding aimed at improving school leadership performance to award $116,000 to Lively Paradox and another company for professional development purposes.
The document states the district evaluated four contractors. Roberts had recommended two properties that were “best suited to the needs of the district.”
District Procurement Manager Joanne Coonlaw-Philaban discovered that Lively Paradox had Roberts listed as part of its team, district spokesman Phil Loder said. He and District Chief Financial Officer Shashank Aurora met with Roberts to discuss conflicts of interest, he said.
Mr Roberts told the board that the meeting was no longer necessary as he had “received additional updates from the finance team”.
Roeder said the board did not know why Roberts canceled the September meeting when he recommended that Price withdraw in December. In July 2024, while considering rehiring Mr. Price, the board learned of Mr. Roberts’ involvement in the Lively Paradox.
Board chair Jackie Norris said conflict of interest concerns had since been addressed with Roberts. He further stated, “I strongly feel that there is a need to review all expenditures related to the former superintendent.”
___
Foley reported from Iowa City, Iowa.
