Mohip acknowledges pay from company with same owners as one he hired for services

YOUNGSTOWN

Youngstown schools CEO Krish Mohip acknowledged he was paid $4,000 in July by a company whose owners had done business with the school district in February via another company they also owned.

When questioned by The Vindicator on Aug. 9 about the relationship between Atlantic Research Partners (ARP) and Education Research & Development Institute (ERDI), both of Chicago, Mohip quit being a paid consultant for ERDI that very day.

Mohip was paid $4,000 by ERDI for his position on an educational review panel July 12-14.

It was in February that Mohip hired ARP to search for city school district principals, at a cost of $12,500.

Both firms have ties to two men – David Sundstrom and Joseph Wise. They, and the ARP firm, have been part of past controversies in education.

Sundstrom and Wise were both founders of ARP. Sundstrom left in March to co-own ERDI. Wise will join ERDI in the coming months.

If Mohip had continued to do consulting work for ERDI, he would have been working for the same people with whom he had contracted $12,500 for district services in February.

Mohip said that when he learned about ERDI’s new ownership, he intended to resign from being paid. He had intended to merely donate his time to continue working with the company, he said.

“We do everything we can to avoid the appearance of impropriety,” said Sundstrom, who visited The Vindicator editorial board on Tuesday with Mohip.

ERDI reviews educational services and products with educators in a panel format.

Read more about the matter in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.