Cappuccino For Chicago Public Schools?

Boy, things sure have changed since I was in High School, especially in Chicago!

Turns out the Chicago School Board bought 30 cappuccino/espresso machines for $67,000. The purchase was a "no bid contract" no less.

According to a story in the Sun-Times:

In the case of the cappuccino machines, central office administrators split the order among 21 vocational schools to avoid competitive bidding required for purchases over $10,000. As a result CPS paid about $12,000 too much, according to Inspector General James Sullivan. "We were able to find the same machines cheaper online," he said.

"We also look at it as a waste of money because the schools didn't even know they were getting the equipment, schools didn't know how to use the machines and weren't prepared to implement them into the curriculum," Sullivan said.

Apparently, someone had the idea of educating a new crop of barristas for local coffee shops. Perhaps not such a great use of school funds?