By Kevin McCauley
New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has voided a $27M education contract with a News Corp. unit, citing the “ongoing investigations and continuing revelations” about the media combine headed by Rupert Murdoch.
The contract for evaluating tests was with News Corp.’s Wireless Generation. It was part of the Empire State’s $700M “Race to the Top” program, according to the August 27 New York Daily News.
In his letter to the state’s Education Dept., DiNapoli wrote that “we are returning the contract with Wireless Generation unapproved.” He also knocked News Corp.’s “incomplete record” in the education department.
News Corp. acquired a 90 percent stake in Brooklyn-based Wireless Generation in November for $360M.
Murdoch hailed the company as being “in the forefront of individualized, technology-based leading that is poised to revolutionize public education for a new generation of students.”
Joel Klein, the former New York City chancellor and deputy White House counsel in the Clinton administration, heads News Corp.’s education thrust.
He also oversees News Corp.’s management standards committee that is exploring the hacking scandal that led to the shutdown of the News of the World tabloid in the U.K. , parliamentary hearings and a U.S. Justice Dept. probe.
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