Andrea Gabor posted today an update on the Dark Money behind Question 2 in Massachusetts.
She begins:
“On October 24, I posted the story below about dark money–much of it from out-of-state–flowing into Massachusetts to support a “yes” vote on a pro-charter-school ballot question known as Question 2. In the days just before the election, those funds have increased dramatically, making Question 2 the most expensive charter-school ballot initiative in the country, ever. In Massachusetts, which has the most highly rated public schools in the nation, more has been spent by proponents of Ballot 2 than both sides spent on any other ballot initiative in state history, and more dark money has flowed to the initiative than to any state or federal election. Here are the latest totals via Peggy Wiesenberg, attorney, activist and public-school parent who did the analysis for the original post:
—Families for Excellent Schools, $15.6 million
—Other dark-money donors $2 million
–Hedge fund and other investment managers $1.9 million
–Jim and Alice Walton $1.8 million
–Other donors, $1.3 million, including a total $490,000 from Michael Bloomberg
By contrast, union spending in opposition to Question 2, was about $11 million.”
The people of Massachusetts will decide tomorrow who owns their public schools.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I hope there is a resounding win for public education in Massachusetts and in Georgia, and other states at risk of the takeover. I noticed in Politico that Secretary of Education John King thinks unlimited expansion of charters in Massachusetts is fine. If he could he would vote “yes” for Question 2. Not a big surprise, but another thumb in the eye from an Obama official.
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The fact that the Eva Moskowitz connected charter group Families for Excellent Schools is by far the biggest red flag about what this pro-charter movement is all about.
This is the same organization that funds annual rallies that are attended primarily by Success Academy students and their parents, with a token presence from other charters that don’t shut down and all but require their families to attend.
This is the same organization that – when Success Academy’s high suspension rate for 6 year olds was finally reported on — started a new pro-suspension campaign in which they spent inordinate amounts of money to convince NYers that unless schools are free to suspend 20 or 25% of their Kindergarten and first graders, they will be overrun with violence and “good” children will be in serious danger! Suspensions of all this violent children must be allowed to save the ones who are savable!
FES has fought hard against any oversight, and fought hard to excuse got to go lists and fought hard to make sure no oversight organization ever examined longitudinal attrition rates to see how many Kindergartens are MIA by the time 3rd or 4th grade rolls around. I mean, who cares, right? It’s all about the kids!
When I see that this is being led by them, I realize that charters like Success Academy are dying to get into the Massachusetts “market” because they are running out of acceptable at-risk kids in NYC to educate and most of the middle class ones they are desperate to attract haven’t been buying into their lies. And with de Blasio, they don’t have a Mayor happy to undermine any good public school that potential middle class charter school parents use to help create just the “market” that those charters want.
This campaign is being written by the very charter school industry that cares the LEAST about at-risk kids and has been more than happy to use the most vile and racist innuendoes to excuse a powerful charter chain’s high suspension and attrition rates.
This is not about the kids at all.
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The contrast, between the spending of the richest 0.1% and union spending, is primarily that the unions represent millions of people, who live in the states and districts, where they pay taxes and vote and, where they need and utilize the common good services, that they fund. States’ residents are deeply indebted to the worker collectives who are shouldering the burden of fighting off the rich The workers cobble together, money from their paychecks, unlike the Walton parasites who write checks from their daddy’s estate.
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