In November, voters in Massachusetts will be confronted by Question 2, whose purpose is to lift the present limit on charter schools. The campaign to lift the cap is supported by Republican Governor Charlie Baker and his appointees. It is also supported by the usual rich white guys who love charter schools for other people’s children. Their goal is privatization of public schools. This is a crucial vote, because if the hedge funders and billionaires can win in Massachusetts, they can win anywhere. That is why it is so important to stop them. The Democratic State Committee passed a resolution opposing Question 2. The corporate reformers are falsely claiming that Question 2 will “improve public schools.” This is a lie. It will suck money out of public schools and permit more privatization in the state that invented public education.
Peter Greene writes here about the Question 2 campaign. He notes that the proponents of charter schools have hired the same public relations outfit that created the Swift Boat ads against John Kerry.
Watch for the same lies, the same effort to hoodwink the public into believing that up is down, war is peace, ignorance is strength, and privately managed schools are “public schools.” Don’t believe it.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
That analysis had a wide variety of weaknesses when you first linked to it, Diane, two weeks ago, but it now has some comments attached addressing some of those. So thanks for pointing to it again.
The Yes on 2 campaign is now hiring people for $17.50 an hour to canvas throughout MA.
“Watch for the same lies, the same effort to hoodwink the public into believing that up is down, war is peace, ignorance is strength, and privately managed schools are “public schools.” Don’t believe it. ”
Which is why this battle has to be waged as part of a broad front against the “Coporatocracy” (amazing like Neoliberal that word has not been included in spell check???) This is but one battlefield in a World War started by Plutocrats at the end of the last World War.
The problem is that like the War in Syria, there are very few good guys to ally with.
“. . . there are very few good guys to ally with.”
Actually Joel, there are quite a few “good guys”. It’s just that the good guys do not have the huge amounts of money that allows for them to seem quite larger (in numbers) and in peddling (or is that buying) influence than what they really are.
As Diane and many of us “other” good guys recognize: The edudeformers have the money and bought the media, we have the truth and the sheer numbers on our side. There are many instances throughout history when the “small guys” won out over larger “forces”-Afghans vs every major power of the time that tried to impose their will against the Afghans, the Vietnamese against the French and the US, etc. . . .
Time will indeed tell but I’m betting on our side, the good guys.
Duane Swacker
Obviously good guys refereed to the political arena, not to those defending against the attack from the plutocracy. As to the “small guys”, sorry the point is, you are too small to fight this battle alone on a single issues like education.
There is little about the ed reform movement that has the interest of American children at heart. Contrary to the popular assertions the Billionaires behind this assault have little to gain from profiting off of Public education dollars. The pie is divided too many ways. If some can profit off of it they will take it . However they “have bigger fish to fry”. Power, Political domination is their goal. The destruction of Public Goods like public education weakens the role of Government. De legitimizing Governments ability to Tax or Regulate. The destruction of unions leaves one less obstetrical in their way. The restructuring of education through the University level ……
Translation: being able to determine who gets what when and how.
I won’t bother repeating Bernie’s punch line.
“Which is why this battle has to be waged as part of a broad front against the Coporatocracy”
The “small guys” cannot win alone . However;
“The People united will never be defeated”
Dam spell check: obstacle
I so need that DAMN edit button
I teach in a MA public high school. My two kids are students at the same school. What was once, up to about 4-5 years ago, a strong school that I was proud to work at has been rapidly sinking. We get a new superintendent every 1 to 3 years. Our last few supers have never even been classroom teachers. We get every new corporate initiative shoved down our throats, often 5 or 6 of them at the same time. None of these initiatives have been useful to the education of students. Our administrators praise these “wonderful ” initiatives and the mostly sheep-like teachers eagerly try to please the boss. Our strong academic teachers are leaving. I am too close to retirement to leave.
I wish we had other options. I would likely support an initiative to bring in some competition but the corporate charters that Question 2 would bring in would probably be even worse that our current school, hence I can’t support it.
If other parts of the state are having similar experiences, then I fear that Q2 just might pass.
It is a sad commentary on our democracy when corporations can walk into public institutions, remake them according to their own uninformed agendas, and destroy the education for the state’s students, especially considering Massachusetts offers about the best education of any state or commonwealth. We need to work to get the money out of our public services and our politics.
The Question 2 campaign continues to, as we say, “evolve”.
On Sunday, The Boston Globe published an advertorial scolding the Boston Teachers Union that it had better settle contract negotiations pretty quickly because “such changes are necessary to boost the quality of teaching and learning so the school system can compete more aggressively with independently run charter schools, a sector of public education that could grow dramatically in the coming years.”
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/08/21/watchdog-urges-teachers-city-act-boldly-contract-deadline-looms/RZVzQq9h13CAJMGTTvQOSP/story.html#comments
The “research” comes from the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, whose President Sam Tyler, of course lives in the suburbs. Among the recommendations:
“Supporting and improving teacher quality and adding more time for learning in the BPS should be the mutual objectives of the City and BTU in these negotiations. To that end, the final three-year contract should include the following provisions:
*Teacher Compensation – Adopt a new fiscally responsible teacher compensation system that rewards teachers for performance and additional responsibilities rather than for academic credits and longevity.
* Mutual consent – Reinforce early hiring and mutual consent for teachers and extend mutual consent as the process for hiring paraprofessionals.
* SPC Teachers – Improve procedures for the assignment and evaluation of teachers in suitable professional capacity (SPC) positions in order to improve teacher quality and reduce the number of SPC teachers not hired after a year or who do not apply for positions.
* Teacher Evaluation – Improve the teacher evaluation process based on the BPS’ experience over the last three years.
* Excessing Procedures – Include language for excessing teachers that is consistent with retaining top quality teachers irrespective of seniority.
* Extended Time – Provide more time on learning for students in traditional Boston schools in a fiscally responsible and sustainable manner.”
In other words, credentialed, certified teachers, many with decades of classroom experience, ought to accept the kinds of working conditions that their uncertified, inexperienced colleagues find in charters.
The attack on compensation for academic credentials is particularly outrageous. Massachusetts law, since the 1993 ed reform act (which also enabled charters), requires teachers to obtain a Master’s within the first five years of their careers if they wish to obtain professional status. There’s no re-imbursement of this expense, and the cost of an MA is Massachusetts is pretty pricey.
Here’s the six page attack (er, report) on unionized teachers in what’s been called the best urban school system:
Click to access SR16-6BPScontract.pdf
Then John Oliver presented his views on the Charter School industry.
In response, Chris Farone of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism’s DigBoston, a local alternative news organization, put the Globe and the Boston Municipal Research Bureau under its spotlight, noting that BMRB reps for businesses:
“…it wouldn’t take the Globe’s award-winning Spotlight team to see that BMRB’s board of directors boasts members from such companies as State Street Corporation, Suffolk Construction, Fidelity Investments, Liberty Mutual Insurance, Citizens Bank, Boston Properties, and John Hancock, among others in the corporate class whose money drives the pro- side of the charter war.”
The article is titled: “THE BOSTON GLOBE AND JOHN OLIVER: WHICH ONE IS FULL OF CRAP ABOUT CHARTER SCHOOLS?”
https://digboston.com/the-boston-globe-and-john-oliver-which-one-is-full-of-crap-about-charter-schools/
On Tuesday, the 23rd Globe published an article reviewing the Dobbie, Fryer research which shows that charters don’t do much in the way of improving test scores and may have a negative impact on earnings. (The question of whether those ought to be considered appropriate goals of education is not discussed.)
Here’s the study: http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/fryer/files/charters_7.15.16.pdf
and the Globe article:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2016/08/23/charter-schools-boost-test-scores-nothing-else/D6F7vTwLTqYnBJyeupoODK/story.html#comments
Also on Tuesday, Boston’s other newspaper, the Boston Herald, posted the following column by Carol Doherty, member of the Taunton School Committee, questioning the flow of dark money and Wall Street connections for this ballot question:
http://www.heraldnews.com/opinion/20160823/carol-doherty-following-money-billionaire-investors-tied-to-charter-school-campaign
And the Twitter exchange has been fierce, with Jeanne Allen and Dmitiri Melhorne accusing two Boston parents (one of whom writes a blog called Public School Mama) who have organized protests against the underfunding of BPS for the past year with such finely considered arguments as “Your grandchildren will be embarrassed by you 60 years from now” and “Oh, wait! Urban voters would choose to lift caps! It’s OUTSIDERS from suburbs who are blocking choice for Boston parents!” Sheesh!
Wednesday, it was reported that Massachusetts students had the highest ACT scores in the nation, undermining once again the rationale for increasing the number of charters, when we’re doing just fine without them, thanks.
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/08/best_in_the_nation_massachuset.html
Christine, I appreciate your blow-by-blow account of the goings-on in and around bean town. Not surprised to see Jeanne Allen with a very long tail of influence doing her song and dance. The public exposure of backers of charters is really important. The US Chamber of Commerce and ALEC are all in for this in addition to state and local foundations. The contract is really straight out of the McKinsey & Co. and TFA, big charter management play books… lots of talk about teacher quality but not really giving a hoot about that, just getting more work from teaching tourists with minimal qualifications.
and from Jack Hassard in Georgia; http://www.artofteachingscience.org/vote-no-on-the-misfortunate-school-district-on-november-8-2016/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj5bHEuZ37I&feature=player_embedded Elizabeth Warren — we have responsibility for ALL children… not just a sub-set