Carl Paladino, a multimillionaire in Buffalo who ran on the Republican ticket for governor against Andrew Cuomo in the last election, got elected to the Buffalo, New York, school board.
He supports charter schools. He also invests in them. He makes money investing in charter schools. “If I didn’t, I’d be a frigging idiot,” he said.
Conflict of interest?
PS: Sorry to say that the Buffalo newspaper removed this story from the Internet, although it still appears on Google.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
the page is no longer available. do you have the full article? I am writing today about Baker Mitchell, who stands out among that crowd.
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Looks like it’s a problem with the web site (the whole “Education” section is down). Here’s a cached version.
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:CfZxtOpyHQ0J:www.buffalonews.com/city-region/paladinos-investments-in-charter-schools-raise-questions-20141021+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
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I’m definitely in the wrong line of work.
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Link to the report did not work. Citizens elected him. Wonder about the voter turnout, how much money was poured into this person’ election, from what sources, and so on. In addition to the outright purchase of of public office enabled by deep pockets, there is a real problem with voter apathy along with a decline in the population of parents with school-age children. Wonder exactly what the school board policy is on conflict of interest. It must be weak for this person to be so blatantly proud of taking taxpayer money for profit.
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The page was taken down, but the story is still on Google as of now
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Private$chool$@PublicExpen$e.com
Ca$h In B4 The Bubble$ Bur$t ❢❢❢
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“Next year, the market size of K-12 education is projected to be $788.7 billion. And currently, much of that money is spent in the public sector. “It’s really the last honeypot for Wall Street,” says Donald Cohen, the executive director of In the Public Interest, a think tank that tracks the privatization of roads, prisons, schools and other parts of the economy.”
“If I didn’t, I’d be a frigging idiot,” he said.
Or as Country Joe and The Fish described it in “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-DieRag”:
“Well, come on Wall Street, don’t move slow,
Why man, this is war au-go-go.
There’s plenty good money to be made
By supplying the Army with the tools of the trade,
Just hope and pray that if they drop the bomb,
They drop it on the Viet Cong.”
“Frigging idiot” indeed!
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“….I’d be a friggin’ idiot.”. Guess what? By make such investment(s) he is . What else can one say? He is an amoral idiot? He broke the law? Give it a name.
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Evey state in the country needs one of these:
http://knowyourcharter.com/
It couldn’t have cost that much, and it’s all publicly-available information. The great value of it is it’s specific. You can look up your district and the charter schools individually, and compare.
NY hasn’t had ed reform as long as Ohio has, so you’re still operating under the hope or wish that somebody somewhere is going to regulate these transactions and police conflicts of interest. Probably not, if very other state that is further along this privatization road is any guide.
They PREFER charter schools over public schools. The objective is to replace public schools with charter schools. If it wasn’t, they would have drafted different laws in the first place and they wouldn’t be busy deregulating even now.
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Normally politicians are required to put their investments in a “blind trust” to avoid to perception of favoritism.
Are you blind if you can’t see anything else?
or If you don’t see any other solution?
I think this guy has confused the meaning of “blind trust.”
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Jim Realini: there is an alternate version—
“Trust me blindly.
Because it’s all for the kids!”
😡
Rheeally! In a Johnsonally sort of way it makes a lot of ₵ent¢…
But not really…
😎
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Money For Nothin’ (parody of Dire Straights)
Now look at them bo-yo’s that’s the way you do it
You vote for charters on the school board, see?
That ain’t workin’ that’s the way you do it
Money for nothin’ and yer schools for free
Now that ain’t workin’ that’s the way you do it
Lemme tell ya them guys ain’t dumb
Maybe get a blister on your texting finger
Maybe get a blister on your thumb
We gotta install charters — and dozens —
Custom charter deliveries
We gotta remove these bad regulations
We gotta remove these taxes and fees
The schoolboard member with the charters on the rake-up
No buddy, that sure ain’t fair
That schoolboard member got his own jet airplane
That schoolboard member he’s millionaire
We gotta install charters — and dozens
Custom charter deliveries
We gotta remove these bad regulations
We gotta remove these taxes and fees
I shoulda’ learned to play them Board-games
I shoulda’ learned to bend them rules
Look at that fella, he got it pilin’ in the bank-account
Man we’re a bunch of fools
And he’s up there, what’s that? “Kachinkin” noises ?
Feedin’ off the public, that is plain to see
That ain’t workin’ that’s the way you do it
Get your money for nothin’ get your schools for free
We gotta install charters — and dozens —
Custom charter deliveries
We gotta remove these bad regulations
We gotta remove these taxes and fees
Now that ain’t workin’ that’s the way you do it
Money for nothin’ and yer schools for free
Now that ain’t workin’ that’s the way you do it
Money for nothin’ get yer schools for free
Money for nothin’ get yer schools for free
I want my, I want my, I want my charter’s free…
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http://b-loedscene.blogspot.com/2014/10/buffalo-board-of-education-confederacy.html?m=1
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Love your blog.
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Local control and elections have consequences. Crazy Carl Paladino on a school board is a, well, crazy proposition, but there it is.
He isn’t in a position to approve the opening of charter schools, and there’s nothing wrong with financing the construction of buildings that will be rented to charter operators. He isn’t on the board of a charter or a management org, and everything appears as if it is being conducted at arm’s length.
There are quite a few districts in NY state that have elected school board officials who are hostile to their own schools. In a couple of districts, such officials actually control the board. But all were elected, fair and square. If Paladino’s actions are not viewed favorably by his constituents, presumably he’ll be voted out in 2016.
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Tim, let us hope he is voted out.
It is our defense against plutocracy
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Scumbag…
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The Buffalo public schools are deplorable. So what if Paladino invests in charter schools? He puts money into in a product he supports…Oh, how evil. If his investment helps lead children to success in education, then good for him and better for them. He should be praised and supported for helping the children find the sanctuary of choice. The despicable union run Buffalo system places salaries and benefits of union members as the king and the students and tax payers as their serfs.
Ms Ravitch, Merriam-Webster defines plutocracy as, “an elite or ruling class of people whose power derives from their wealth.” This is the definition of the NEA, whose power, wealth, and political influence far exceed that of Carl Paladino. This businessman is a soldier in the fight against the plutocrats.
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By Larry Scott
Carl Paladino’s history and business dealings indicate grave concern about his intentions in running for Buffalo School Board. Not only does he lack expertise and a background in education, but, when lambasting Buffalo Public Schools, he never references any knowledge of or research on child development, education, student achievement and reform.
He only, recklessly, urges that schools be converted to charter schools, without providing any evidence that this is an effective systemic reform.
So, why is he so incessantly passionate about this unproven reform? A look into Paladino’s business transactions provides an understanding and reveals compelling evidence that his intention is to profit from public money.
Every time a new charter school is established, obtaining space for the school entails purchasing or leasing a building, which typically results in costly renovation of an existing structure or new construction. Therefore, charter schools often lease from private entities, such as real estate developers, commercial landlords and property management companies.
Conveniently, Paladino’s own company, Ellicott Development, performs all of these services, and has actually served in the development and leasing of three existing Buffalo charter schools. At a combined cost of about $19.5 million, along with a sales and mortgage tax break from the Erie County Industrial Development Agency totaling $605,570, Ellicott Development provided the lease with and construction for Tapestry Charter School, West Buffalo Charter School and Health Science Charter School. Paladino and his for-profit company are making a remarkable profit, almost all from public tax dollars.
Although charter schools are created and managed by private entities, they are predominately funded by public money. In 2010, an annual audited financial statement for New York Charter Schools found that more than 95 percent of Buffalo charter school funding came from public dollars, while less than 5 percent came from private donations. Spending on facilities (development and leasing) is typically the second-largest expenditure, amounting to approximately $1,150 per Buffalo student.
Knowing how Paladino’s company has already benefited, it comes as no surprise that he would prey on the school district’s deficiencies and relentlessly demand that schools be converted to charters.
It’s hard, then, to believe that Paladino genuinely cares about our schools, families and children. He’s a successful and wealthy businessman, who cares only about the bottom line, arguably acceptable in a free enterprise, but unacceptable at the expense of our children, education and public tax dollars.
Larry Scott is school psychologist in the Kenmore-Tonawanda School District.
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Join the Buffalo PTO in this fight to keep our Buffalo Schools, Public! We own our public schools and they are not for sale! http://www.buffaloschoolsbelieve.org
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Absolutely nuts….and frightening. This email exchange is a small glimpse…
http://buffalochronicle.com/2014/10/18/paladino-uses-lawyer-to-intimidate-principal-then-rants-when-called-out/
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Kids are not products. Only a cruel, greedy & callous person would make such a ridiculous assertion.
Carl is in it for the money. He is preying on students in the nation’s fourth poorest city. It’s shameful.
It’s a game to him. I don’t see the education of our society as a game.
(the article posted by “Special Educator NY” demonstrates Palladio’s misogyny & racism.
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