In 2012, Californians voted on Proposition 30, which raised taxes on the richest citizens in order to raise funding for public schools and charter schools. The measure passed, despite a well-funded effort to defeat it.
A group of unions and progressive activists released a list of nearly 80 wealthy Californians who secretly funded the campaign to defeat Proposition 30. One of them was billionaire Eli Broad, who publicly supported Prop 30 but donated either $500,000 or $1 million to the effort to defeat it.
The progressive activists–called California Hedge Clippers–dug into records to show where the money came from to fight the temporary tax to aid schools.
Individuals named in the group’s report include Silicon Valley tech and investment executive John H. Scully ($500,000), investor and Hyatt Hotel heir Anthony Pritzker ($100,000), developer Geoff Palmer ($100,000) and private equity investor Gerald Parsky ($50,000).
Donors, regulators concluded, contributed money to an out-of-state organization, which circulated funds through a series of other groups and eventually back to California. By then, the identity of the donors was beyond the reach of disclosure laws.
As the money was channeled to California, some transfers were not properly disclosed and therefore violated the law, officials said. Well after the election, a California investigation resulted in $16 million in fines to some of the groups as well as the disclosure of some donors, including Broad, who either gave $500,000 or $1 million, depending on how the source documents are interpreted. The donors were not fined….
Among the names to emerge in the California research is Nils Colin Lind ($50,000), who was at the time an executive at Blum Capital, the firm he co-founded with Richard Blum, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s husband. The larger contributions include $800,000 from machine-tool manufacturer Gene Haas. The researchers also uncovered additional money from the Fisher family, heirs to the Gap fortune and among the most generous supporters of charter schools; their revised total is $10 million.
The list also includes leaders of the charter school movement, such as Scully and Tony Ressler ($25,000), a former longtime board member of the charter group Alliance College-Ready Public Schools.
Like other public schools, charters reaped huge financial benefits from Proposition 30 after it passed in 2012. School officials across the state hope voters in the November election will extend the tax on the wealthiest 2% of earners….
The donors’ money traveled a circuitous path. They contributed to Americans for Job Security, a Virginia trade association. This outfit then passed the money to the Center to Protect Patient Rights in Arizona. The center next sent $11 million to a Phoenix group, Americans for Responsible Leadership, which provided it to the Small Business Action Committee. That committee spent the money on the California campaigns.
In another relay, the Center to Protect Patient Rights provided more than $4 million to the America Future Fund in Iowa, which passed the money to the California Future Fund for Free Markets, a campaign committee supporting Proposition 32.
Not all of the donated money made it back to California. About $10 million was captured by groups in other parts of the country, the researchers said.
A little bit off the topic, but a look at how charter schools are amassing a large pot of capital in Massachusetts, even as they seek to be allowed to open 12 more charters per year:
http://bostonpoliticaleducation.blogspot.com/2016/03/charter-school-dollars-and-sense-part-1.html?m=1
Reblogged this on Crazy Normal – the Classroom Exposé and commented:
A Twisted Trail of deceit that reveals how far the fraudsters and extremists out to destroy community based, democratic, transparent, non-profit public education will go to profit off of OUR children and control what OUR children learn.
Trying again to get this to post…Ken Derstine, a supporter of Diane and well known blogger, is a prime educated and credible informant re Eli Broad and the Clintons.
“Dark money” is no new news to those of us in California.
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Schools Matter: Eli Broad and the Clintons
http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2015/06/eli-broad-and-clintons.html
Jun 29, 2015 – By Ken Derstine at Defend Public Education! …. Despite his endorsement of Hillary Clinton in the 2008 election, Eli Broad was thrilled with the …
Education Mirages and Presidential Politics—Hillary Clinton
nancyebailey.com/2016/…/education-mirages-and-presidential-politics-hillary-clinton/
May 12, 2016 – Hillary Clinton says she doesn’t like to see teachers blamed, but isn’t she a part of the old guard that brought about high-stakes … And we know that Clinton holds people like Eli Broad in high regard. …. Ken Derstine says.
Los Angeles: Eli Broad’s Illegitimate Proposal to Privatize Half the District
Sep 26, 2015 – Eli Broad intends to raise $490 million to build 260 new charter schools for … Don’t expect much from Hillary Clinton. …… To Guru Ken Derstine:.
Voices Against Privatizing Public Education – Facebook
Eli Broad, The Clintons And the AFT/NEA Leadership … by Ken Derstine …. Despite his endorsement of Hillary Clinton in the 2008 election, Eli Broad was thrilled …
madfloridian’s Journal – Democratic Underground
http://www.democraticunderground.com › … › madfloridian
Democratic Underground
Jul 14, 2015 – … Ken Derstine, I finally understand why Broad “favors” Weingarten, … Derstine writes: … Eli Broad appears to have been instrumental in starting TURN to ….. On October 10, 2002 Hillary Clinton gave a floor speech in favor of …
Broad’s support of Clinton raising concerns within teacher unions – LA …
These ______s love to call themselves philanthropists and insist they are good people. But then, we find out they are secretly fighting to defund public schools. I do not ever want to hear about another deformer’s good intentions again. Not ever. (And no one I know will ever set foot in a Gap store again either.)
Can’t understand why this site is rejecting my comments. Suggest everyone google Ken Derstine and read his articles on all this.
Ellen, long comments and comments with links are automatically out in moderation, which means I have to approve them manually
I was driving today to Long Island and did not see your comment until now
We lost this game the day we allowed ourselves to be led away from the concept of an actual PHILANTHROPIST to the newly minted idea of a Philanthro-Capitalist.
Villainthropist?
There seems to be a lag sometimes before comments appear. Sometimes a comment will appear, disappear, then re-appear after a couple minutes. At first I thought my comments were being reviewed, but then I noticed that other commenters’ comments are sometimes listed in the number of replies before they actually show up. So it wasn’t just my comments. I’m sure you’re not being rejected by this site, Ellen. And, I will look up Derstine. Thank you, Ellen. But I will use DuckDuckGo, not creepy, monopolizing Google.
Comments with links are automatically held for review by me
And get approved depending on my availability
Ciede, a list of words destroyed:
Philanthropy
Reform
Choice
Achievement
Outcome
Public
I could go on…
And again (sigh), I feel the need to point out the close connections between Eli Broad and Hillary Clinton.
and dishonesty.
It is not merely that these charlatans give to defund public schools, but that they give so much while brazenly covering up their true intentions. This represents cowardice at its worst and is more evidence that we need to bring all political activity into the light.
If they openly revealed their true intentions, there would be such a backlash from the community. They prefer to hide in the shadows and buy the right people in order to execute a privatized transition. They don’t want to have to deal with irate citizens; they don’t think they should answer to citizens at all. They have been actively working behind the scenes to privatize any number of public services such as parts of the post office, water companies, prisons, EMTs and, of course, schools. They do a worse job than when these services were public; they crush middle class jobs, and the investors run off with bags of cash. It is vulture capitalism at its worst. By the way, these privatized companies provide minimal benefits to employees.
The taxpayers then have to subsidize their health care and food stamps when employees cannot live on what they are paid. It is the Walmartization of our country.
Sadly, I doubt that very many LA Times readers are aware of the fact that Broad is involved in funding education coverage in this newspaper. While it’s a good thing that Howard Blume was allowed to write this article, it should have been placed on the front page of the 1st section but instead was relegated to the lower corner of the California section. It’s also too bad that Broad’s name was not part of the headline given his role in the newspaper and his plan to increase charter schools in LAUSD.
It’s interesting that Broad funded an anti-Prop 30 campaign considering that charter schools would also benefit from the extra dollars. However, we can guess that his goal to defund and destroy public education took precedence. After all, Broad and his closest buddies have already been donating millions and millions of extra dollars to California charters, so any shortfall due to the defeat of Prop 30 could easily be made up by increasing donations. After all, Broad, Gates, the Waltons and all the others mentioned in the article have plenty of money to throw around. First, they would get tax breaks from their donations and also reap the benefits of keeping the needed increased funding out of public schools, thus making them less able to compete with charters. Voila…….a better outlook to increase charters!!!!!!
Bottom line…….no one should trust Broad an inch. His newly revised charter plan pretends to include traditional schools. Sure, maybe they’ll throw a few dollars at a few LAUSD schools. But, the lionshare will go to charters. Anyone believe otherwise????
I am aware and incensed! Broad also supports other groups that support his vision – like United Way which then has the gall to ask LA Unified teachers to support their giving campaigns at the schools. I had to explain this to our cafeteria manager who could not understand why I was refusing to donate even five bucks. The United Way stood strongly behind Deasy and pro-charter candidates for the school board supported by Broad. And the LA Times hasn’t a shred of journalistic integrity left – basically selling reporter chairs to the highest bidder.
Doesn’t seem to matter weather you are a duplicitous cretin or an arrogant fool, the result reinforces the same lesson; concentration of great wealth in a few hands undermines democracy and negates the wisdom of the masses.
“Neo-liberalism” is, unfortunately, a wonky word and doesn’t have the emotional/visceral impact that “robber-barons” had in another century,
The Democrats who support these economic and educational policies and pedagogies need to be called out and held accountable.
The money and individuals who bankroll policies that affects the lives of other people’s children should be CONSTANTLY highlighted. Let the chips fall where they may and the politicians should justify who has their ear and their influence.
The Democrats of California (and other urban municipalities nationwide) are at war with one another on education policy…and all one has to do is examine what policies the rich and powerful Democrats side with.
This Civil War has to happen. Wonky Neo-liberalism, with all its cash and power, is after years of influence (and abuse) is now having to deal with itself in the spotlight.
Keep the light on and those principal power players.
They despise the publicity and the attention.
But it is our best line of offense.
Yes, Geronimo. The rich who support the destruction of public institutions should be publicly shamed and humiliated