$8,500 for a Hard Day's Work

Following up on a request from a reader

One of my readers was curious for the cost to the District for the keynote speaker that District 65 had at their full-day equity professional development session last Monday. Here is a snapshot from the District’s email on the subject:

The District responded to this FOIA request quite quickly, you can read it at this link. The cost:

• Keynote Fee: $8,500 + Travel/Expenses

For reference; when I worked at GrubHub, years ago, we got a rate sheet for various bands to play our Christmas party. The Reel Big Fish (a 90s ska band) were about $10,000 + Travel/Expenses and this was ten years ago.¹ That’s my point of reference anytime I think about a keynote speaker or live event costs; are they charging more or less than a 1990s ska band? Given my framework, the cost here is within reason and probably on the low end of the keynote-speaker-pricing scale.

With that said, District 65 is a public entity that belongs to all of us, and not a private company. This was a professional development session for District teachers (as opposed to fundraising, etc). Given the District just requested a 5.5% maximum allowable tax levy, I have to wonder if this has sufficient (if any) return on investment. Certainly not one that would be measurable.

Edit: Removed some arguments I make about turning these PD events into a revenue generating event after getting some good feedback.

1. Instead our CEO hired a Neil Diamond cover band. It was the worst.