Financial Literacy and St. Paul Kindergartener's: POOF!

“People pay for what they do, and still more for what they have allowed themselves to become.”
— No Name in the Street (1972)

The idea was to layer in financial literacy education from kindergarten onward. The lesson plan could have been as easy as having a piggy bank for every kindergartener to save a quarter (.25 cents) each week over the 10-month school year. I can't be upset Maryland's BlackFem; it's local decision-makers who continue to show malfeasance in decision-making. 

By Don Allen (Journal of A Black Teacher - 2025) - Editorial Opinion

I get the frustration. It's like watching someone skip the obvious local talent pool to roll the dice on an out-of-towner, only for it to blow up in a $900K lawsuit. I break this down step by step based on the details from the Star Tribune piece, and I'll weave in some context on why it might've gone sideways (and yeah, why ignoring the Twin Cities' deep bench of financial literacy pros feels like a head-scratcher).

What Happened: The Quick Timeline of the Mess
St. Paul kicked this off in 2022 as part of its flagship CollegeBound program—a solid initiative under Mayor Melvin Carter that gives every newborn in the city a $50 seed savings account to build toward college or other big goals. The idea was to layer in financial literacy education starting in kindergarten, so these kids grow up with real money smarts tied to their accounts.

To make that happen, the city inked a $900K contract in 2024 with BlackFem Inc., a Maryland-based nonprofit founded in 2014 by Sebrena Burrus. BlackFem bills itself as focused on "wealth justice" for Black women and families, with a track record of policy work and some curriculum development (they pulled in about $500K in revenue last year, per tax filings). The deal: BlackFem would create custom lesson plans and teaching materials for elementary kids, tailored to fit CollegeBound. Milestones included plans by December 2024 and full materials by March 2025. The city front-loaded payments: $500K in September 2024, another $400K in April 2025.

Things derailed fast. Deadlines slipped, meetings got canceled, and disputes erupted over intellectual property. BlackFem insisted the curriculum was built on their existing stuff and wouldn't let the city tweak or own it outright. By summer 2025, tensions boiled over; BlackFem's lawyers proposed just killing the contract without a refund. The final straw? A teacher training session scheduled for October 2, 2025 (on a professional development day) was axed two days beforehand, leaving the kindergarten cohort (the first CollegeBound class hitting that age) high and dry. St. Paul fired back with a federal lawsuit in late 2025, alleging breach of contract and unjust enrichment, demanding the full $900K back plus damages, interest, and legal fees. BlackFem's pushing back, saying they did no wrong and the delays weren't their fault. The savings accounts themselves? Untouched and chugging along fine.

In short: Good intentions met sloppy execution, IP drama, and a nonprofit that (per the city) pocketed the cash without delivering. It's a classic government-contract headache—ambitious goals, but zero margin for screw-ups when taxpayer dollars are on the line.

Why Maryland? (And Why Not the Obvious Local Plays?)
Here's where the "dingleberries" vibe hits hardest: The selection process sounds more like a conference networking win than a rigorous vetting. City staff caught BlackFem's founder speaking at an event in 2022, dug her angle on wealth-building for underserved communities (which vibes with St. Paul's equity push), and basically cold-DM'd her for a collab. No mention in the article of a formal RFP, competitive bidding, or shopping around local options; it just... happened. That informal hop to an out-of-state outfit might stem from:

Thematic fit: BlackFem's "wealth justice" lens (heavy on racial equity and systemic barriers) probably lit up as a fresh match for CollegeBound's social-good roots. St. Paul has been all-in on inclusive programs, so they chased that spark without double-checking the logistics.

Conference halo effect: These things are echo chambers, hear a killer talk, and suddenly it's "the one." But it skipped the due diligence on delivery capacity (BlackFem's a small shop; assets have been dipping).

Bureaucratic blind spots: Governments sometimes prioritize "innovative" outsiders over "boring but reliable" locals to signal progress. Or RFPs got waived under some expedited equity clause, hard to say without internal docs, but it's a pattern in public spending where optics trump ops.

No excuses, though - it reeks of not doing the homework.

And I’m spot-on about the Twin Cities being a goldmine for this stuff. Minnesota's got a rep for financial ed innovation (think strong credit unions, school mandates, and nonprofit density), with way more firepower right here than one Maryland upstart. For proof, here's a quick hit list of local heavy-hitters who could've handled curriculum dev for K-5 kids without the drama:

• Minnesota Jump$tart Coalition: Statewide crew pushing youth financial literacy through partnerships; they've got educator training and curriculum tools locked in.
• Financial Literacy Coalition of MN: Tied to the U, advocating for (and building) personal finance courses—perfect for school integration like CollegeBound.
• BestPrep's Financial Matters: Delivers interactive money-management workshops to MN students; they've already scaled this for thousands of kids.
• Junior Achievement North's JA Finance Park: Hands-on simulations for middle/high schoolers, but they adapt for younger grades; deep Twin Cities roots.
• LSS Financial Counseling (Lutheran Social Service): 35+ years of holistic coaching, including youth programs; could easily spin up custom lessons.
• St. Paul's own Office of Financial Empowerment: Already in-house, running workshops and pilots—why outsource when you've got this squad?
• Model Cities: Twin Cities-focused workshops tackling economic disparities head-on, with a community lens that screams local fit.
• James Homles, Jr. - BlackLion Foundation (author, financial literacy)

These aren't fly-by-nights; they're battle-tested, grant-funded, and plugged into MN's ed system. Hiring locally could've cut travel/IP headaches, boosted community buy-in, and probably saved a bundle on consulting fees. Instead, we get this lawsuit circus. Makes you wonder if the deciders were chasing "national cred" or just didn't Google.

Making Sense of the Bigger Picture
This isn't isolated; public contracts flop when selection skips competition (a 2023 GAO report flagged similar issues in fed grants, and MN audits have dinged cities for lax vendor picks). St. Paul's got big dreams for equity, but execution like this erodes trust.

The silver lining? CollegeBound's core is safe, and the city says they'll pivot to new lessons pronto (maybe even tapping those locals mentioned). If anything, this lawsuit could force a reset: More RFPs, local prefs, and IP clauses that don't leave room for games.