Mercedes Schneider writes here about the latest campaign filings of funds received.
Four billionaires have donated huge sums to purchase seats on the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
The board under Governor Bobby Jindal has avidly supported charters, vouchers, for-profit virtual charters, and attacks on teachers.
But the chairman of the board stepped down, and there are several highly credible candidates.
To make sure that the anti-public school, anti-teacher privatizers retain control, the following billionaires have funded a super-PAC to overwhelm the middle-class educators and other citizens who are running for the state board:
Michael Bloomberg (New York): $800,000
Eli Broad (California):$250,000
John Arnold (Texas): $625,000
Walton Family (Arkansas):$400,000
An ordinary person might be able to raise $40,000-60,000 to run for state board. The billionaires are destroying democracy with their obscene donations and their goal of buying control of a democratic institution.
You will note that none of them lives in Louisiana yet they feel okay about determining the future of public education for the people of Louisiana and their children.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Diane,
Thank you for framing this as the rich drowning out the voices of the middle class to maintain control and power, that has to be our counternarrative to what the Rheeformers are parading.
Truth to Power,
This is not the 1%. This is the one-ten-thousandth of one percent. We have already seen that 158 families contributed half of the money given thus far to the Presidential campaign. In Louisiana, same story, but only four “families.”
It appears that there needs to be some election reform starting with a person or entity must have their primary residence in the state in which they are contributing campaign funds.No one from outside the state may contribute funds to an election.
You would think these billionaires would have better things to do with their time and money. I don’t understand their motives. Is it more money, more control, their family “legacy”.
The model in understanding the current oligarchs, is in Russia. They snatch up national assets and streams of revenue. Gates and Buffett, as part of their self-aggrandizement, employ media to sell the story that they are giving away their fortunes. Yet, in the latest listing, they remain the richest and second richest men in the world.
Election reform! Not a chance with Citizens United in play!
Michael Bloomberg (New York): $800,000
Eli Broad (California):$250,000
John Arnold (Texas): $625,000
Walton Family (Arkansas):$400,000
Well, I can see THAT will be a very lively and rigorous debate: “market-based ed reform: great or greatest thing ever?”
How long after they put in the reforms do they “engage the stakeholders” or are we dropping that formality in the interest of efficiency?
IMO, the Center for American Progress is significantly responsible for the public’s lack of awareness about the money behind education reform. Based on the organization’s name and media-reported identification and posturing, by the group, the American people wrongly drew the conclusion that they and Democrats would provide focus for the American people, when and if, hedge fund and industry thieves commandeered public property. A new organization, Campaign for America’s Future, had to develop to take on the role that we assumed was filled by CAP. America’s Future has to gain traction with media, to replace a “progressive” organization that was operating inconsistently with expectations (or, that was co-opted).
I think a lot of people have given up trying to figure out who is behind all these PACs and think tanks and front groups. It’s become a full time job. It’s absolutely bewildering. I don’t blame them a bit for checking out completely. ONE ballot referendum in Ohio had 20 million dollars behind it. I have no idea who they are or what they want but I have gotten ten colorful pieces of direct mail with marketing language on it. I hope media companies are making money, because someone should benefit from all this cash washing around. God knows the public isn’t.
Campbell Brown’s outfit says ed reform will “solve” inequality. How great is that?
Politicians and private sector leaders don’t have to do anything except authorize privatizing public schools and they’re completely off the hook!
No wonder this “movement” has captured DC. It’s the best accountability dodge ever invented. It’s not them. It’s all of US. We’re the problem.
s://www.the74million.org/article/want-a-president-who-will-tackle-income-inequality-first-get-a-candidate-who-will-talk-k-12-education?utm_content=buffer44784&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Campbell Brown wears rose colored glasses and ear muffs. She does not have a clue about education and the development of children.
Doctors follow the Hippocratic Oath that say “do no harm” but billionaires do not have any guiding principles other than power and greed.
Well one of the central talking points of ed reform is they do NOT believe that ed reform will “solve” inequality, so if they’re admitting that’s the plan upfront I think we’re making progress.
I think they should run on what they believe. If it’s solving income inequality through privatization of formerly public entities they have a duty to say that. Then (and only then) can we have a real public debate.
I’m looking forward to it. I’m not convinced Americans want to privatize public schools and I don’t think they are either- if they WERE convinced Americans wanted to privatize public schools they would proudly run on it. I want my state representative or a rep from the governor’s office to appear locally and push the same privatization agenda they’re promoting behind closed doors. They owe us that.
This is scary. It looks as though any one with lots of cash can buy the public education systems of the USA.
Reblogged this on Crazy Normal – the Classroom Exposé and commented:
Four billionaires have donated huge sums to purchase seats on the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, and none of them are from or live in Louisiana.
“If you do not want to learn, no one can help you. If you want to learn, no one can
stop you.”
If you have a Twitter account and share this post with your followers and anyone else who spots it, I suggest you add as many of these five hash tags from the 10 Twitter Hashtags (list) that noodle.com says “All Teachers should Follow.”
https://www.noodle.com/articles/the-10-twitter-hashtags-all-teachers-should-follow
#Edchat
#Edreform
#WhatIsSchool
#K12
#Education
Here’s the Tweet I just sent out. Feel free to copy and paste it into your Twitter page. Help flood Twitter with tweets for this post—please!
Or just ReTweet it by going to my Twitter page so both your followers and my 14.5k followers get a chance to see it again.
https://twitter.com/lflwriter
FOUR Billionaires are out to Buy Control of the Louisiana State Board of Education
#EdBlogNet
#K12
#edchat
#Edreform
http://wp.me/p2odLa-bpw
In addition, Diane has 119 thousand followers on Twitter. If you aren’t following her and you have a Twitter account, here’s your chance to join.
https://twitter.com/DianeRavitch
Hi, Lloyd. I’ve been making it a point, whenever Eva is involved, to hashtag #dontstealpossible. By “stealing back” these ideas, it’s possible (at least in theory) to present another viewpoint to the readers of the tweet. That’s my theory, anyway.
#dontsteal is also a good hashtag. Fits all possibilities.
… and not “a one” of these dudes is from the state.
Indeed!!!
AND
it “ain’;t” just in education. The billionaires have bought our whole Washington government.
GO BERNIE!!!
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Only a few minutes ago, a reporter from the Boston area called me for an interview on Tommy Chang who used to work for LAUSD, under John Deasy, and is a Broad Academy grad who Boston recently hired as their Supt. of Schools.
In the course of the interview, he asked why Eli Broad is so determined to make all schools into charters. This is the operant question I am asked repeatedly. Why would someone with such vast wealth, want, need, more? What motivates these billionaires to destroy public education in favor of privatizing?
After recommending Diane’s two books, The Death and Life of the Great American School System, and Reign of Error, I dove into the working of the billionaires minds on this issue, of course from my personal perspective. Also recommended to him that he read the Tilson Blog for a hedge fund leaders rationale, and Ken Derstine’s excellent article on Eli Broad.
This long interview covered many aspects of the damage Chang did at LAUSD as a lead administrator put in charge by the failed Supt. Deasy, and with the MiSiS tech scandal at Jefferson HS, which is similar to one that is building in Boston under his leadership. It boggles the mind that a district such as Boston would hire a man whose job history was as a TFA, Green Dot, and CCSA employee….and who failed as a major tech manager for LAUSD.
It is remarkable that so many Broad CEOs immediately segue into even bigger jobs, when they have failed miserably at past leadership. It is a new world where one can be inept, mismanage their assignments, and even commit fraud as with Byrd-Bennett in Chicago, and yet continue to be hired by Boards of Education based on being a Broadie. .
Could you share who the reporter or what the publication is? Want to be ready.
Christine….please contact me at
joiningforces4ed@aol.com
and I will give you more info.
There is a real problem in this country. You should not be allowed to donate money to a campaign that is not in your state. Bloomturds NY billions should not be involved in a Louisiana election.