From a parent in East Nashville:
“Oh, yes, I know all too well about TFA buying, I mean winnng, seats on BOEs. I live in Nashville, TN, where a seat on our local board in my district was “won” by Elissa Kim in 2012. She took her seat from the former board chair and long-time dedicated community member, Gracie Porter. From the City Paper: “With her $81,414 fundraising mark, Kim outpaced Porter, the board chair, in the District 5 race by margin of more than 4 to 1.” Elissa Kim “shattered previous fundraising records for school board races in Nashville”. “30 percent of her dollars from individuals who don’t live in Tennessee, including a handful employed at high-profile private equity firms.”
“My district (where Kim won) in located in East Nashville, an urban neighborhood. Not long after she won, Elissa Kim moved to the suburbs.
“If I, as the parent of an elementary student in the public school system here in Davidson County, ever need any support or have a question, I always go to a board member from another district. I don’t trust her.
“Here is the link to an article explaining more about the 2012 election in Nashville: http://nashvillecitypaper.com/content/city-news/metro-school-board-becomes-arena-political-class-biz-execs”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
It’s time for the Protest in the Pines movement to counter DFER, “Democrats foe, Education Reform” with a new organization,”Democrats Against Hedge Funds”
It is a good time to picket TfA events, too. Apple Computer was promoting TfA and a group of teachers picketed outside of the Apple Computer store in Seattle. The event was MORE than successful. Apple, atleast in Seattle, backed down.
You’re absolutely right, Sarah. If companies had even a faint concern that support for TFA might cause controversy, they’d run the other way.
This pernicious organization needs to be exposed at every opportunity, and ultimately made radioactive in the eyes of college students and the public.
The thing is, they don’t buy seats directly. They buy advertising which tries to (and often succeeds at) shaping the message which in turn persuades people to vote their way. If we can reclaim the message, their money would be useless. We have to keep writing, talking to everyone who will listen, protesting and getting the word out any way we can.
We have to identify ways to get people to notice who is funding the public relations campaigns. People tend to look at the ad see Democrats for Education Reform and think,”I’m a Democrat! I should pay attention to them.” These organizations are very clever with their names.
The 1% has declared war on anyone who stands in their way even if that adds up to the other 99%. Democracy and educating kids has nothing to do with what’s happening. Power and profit have everything to do with it.
And in disctricts with unelected school boards like Chicago, TFA just uses their direct connections with neoliberal mayors to appoint people to the school board like Deborah Quazzo, who used to sit on TFA Chicago’s Board of Directors and whose daughter did TFA: http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/Felsenthal-Files/June-2013/Rahms-Pick-for-the-CPS-Board-Will-Surely-Fuel-the-Push-for-an-Elected-One/ And low and behold, TFA immediately received more than double the previous funding and extra positions despite the 50 schools which were closed down, huge budget cuts, and mass layoffs just months before. Disgusting.
TFA buys school board seats heavily in Nevada. And it goes around asking for money too. Victor Wakefield has to raise $7 million for TFA or he gets canned. His wife sits on the Nevada State School Board. Along with alumni Allison Serafin and Casino Billionaire Elaine Wynn. They hire TFA even as they pink slip veteran teachers. It just isn’t right.