The New York Daily News reports that the wealthy PAC that wants more charter schools has targeted four legislators for defeat because they defend public schools and oppose privatization.
A Super PAC pushing for enactment of a controversial education tax credit to benefit private and parochial schools is targeting Bronx Democratic state Sen. Gustavo Rivera and three Assembly Democratic incumbents in the upcoming Sept.13 primaries, records show.
The PAC, New Yorkers for Independent Action, has already reported spending nearly $256,000 of the $2.78 million it has raised since January on polling and campaign literature in the districts currently represented by Rivera and Assembly members Phil Ramos (D-Suffolk County), Pamela Harris (D-Brooklyn), and Latrice Walker (D-Brooklyn).
The PAC reported it is supporting Councilman Fernando Cabrera against Rivera, Giovanni Mata against Ramos, former Assembly aide Kate Cucco against Harris, and City Councilwoman Darlene Mealey against Walker.
New Yorkers for Independent Action’s treasurer is Thomas Carroll, who is president of Invest In Education Foundation, an education reform group.
Tom Carroll started the Brighter Choice charter chain in Albany with the goal of replacing all public schools. Several of his schools closed because of academic deficiencies.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
This superPAC seems unaware of the NY constitution’s Article Xl, Section 3, which bars such misuse of public funds. Xl,3 was upheld by NY voters by 72% to 28%. — Edd Doerr (arlinc.org)
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While Article XI prohibits the use of public money for religious instruction, there is nothing stating that public money cannot be used at a non-sectarian school such as a charter. Maybe this is how they plan to skirt the law, and perhaps this is how Eva plans to expand schools into middle class areas.
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Profiting from the re-cycling of failed ideas on the backs of the poor.
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No Like button, well said
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This isn’t unique. We have seen this happening repeatedly across the country. Huge sums of money flowing through shills and shells in an attempt to hide the same billionaire sources.
Yet a few voices still appear here on a regular basis supporting the autocratic, often fraudulent and inferior or no better corporate public education take-over movement, and these voices also challenge anyone that confronts them while ignoring any facts or sources used to reveal what is really going on.
Who are these obvious fools and/or minions that keep supporting the opaque, cherry picking facts and children, child abusing, publicly funded, private sector, autocratic, corporate education sector?
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Who they are is not as relevant as knowing the forces behind their voices, as well as the motives of the puppet masters .
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Voters of New York, should read about the failure of Ohio’s voucher program, in Dr. Figlio’s recently published research. The investigators didn’t speculate about motivations, e.g. competition driving improvement. The paper’s findings were limited to documentation, related to the focus of the investigation.
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The voucher issue is not a solitary piece of legislation . Those that vote for vouchers will certainly settle for interim measures.
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School choice is a fundamental right of parents. It’s in the UN charter. Where in the NYS Constitution does it say that children must be locked in failing schools of any kind? Hooray for Eva Moskowitz and, more so, the private schools which do a better job at half the cost thus saving taxpayers tremendous sums. Shame on the teachers unions which put their interests ahead of the children they say they serve. Freedom!
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