Portland, Oregon, is in big trouble. Despite massive spending by the fake reform Stand on Children–err, Stand for Children–the corporate reformers lost in the school board election. Now, as local activist Deb Mayer reports, they are trying to bully a school board member into resigning.
Why the attacks on a man who won his seat and supports public schools? The board has been unable to pick a new superintendent. So the composition of the board is crucial, and the privatizers need another seat. They want Paul Anthony’s seat so they can win by bullying what they could not win at the polls.
Citizens of Portland must be informed. Stand for Children represents Bill Gates and the rest of the zbillionaire Boys Club that funds SFC. They are not working on behalf of the children and families of Portland.
Don’t be fooled.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Fortunately, there are those in the community who understand how odd this attack on Paul Anthony is. Even the Oregonian (whom I usually do not support on education issues) issued an editorial today with serious questions about the effort to force him out.
“Anthony doesn’t report to the administrators’ association. He was hired by voters in part because the district was failing to show the kind of oversight of principals that Portland residents want.”
And more critically this…
“Remember, this is a district where top managers did not even take lead contamination of drinking water seriously until they felt the full blast of public anger. Other adminisrators have similarly shown a can’t-be-bothered attitude when it comes to addressing the huge disparity in classes available to students in rich neighborhoods versus poorer ones. And the district, whose complaint process was found to violate state standards in 2014, is still struggling to put together adequate procedures for handling students’ and families’ concerns.”
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2017/06/call_for_school_board_members.html#incart_2box_opinion
The modus operandi of all corrupt, venal, power hungry entities, politicians, corporations, what have you, all those who loudly pretend to follow the rule of law is as follows: “IF YOU CAN’T EARN IT, STEAL IT.” They don’t give a dead rats ass about the citizens rights or what ordinary people know to be in their own self interest, they don’t care about any of that. To them, all people are just one of two things, either a commodity to be exploited for financial and political gain or a liability to be externalized or eliminated.
Actually, I think it’s more like, why bother to earn it if you can steal it?
This reminds me a bit of the state of Washington’s fight about “public charter” schools. There it was the Bill and Melinda Gates money taking on voters’ decision against charter schools. On to the state Supreme Court. Here it is the home city of Stand on Children unable to buy another seat on the school board. Voters be damned again. Let’s take out after the winner.
It appears that even when the voters speak, “ed reformers” don’t think the results have to apply to them. Amazing. They must believe money trumps all. Democracy be damned. Democrats and Republicans alike act this way when it comes to public education. And this happened in Denver in 2009 when the real reformers won and the corporate reformers turned the fourth vote, Nate Easley, from real reformer to corporatist within 36 hours of the election.
Since Portland and Washington are the headquarters of these two heinous reform organizations, it does not seem ed reformers can accept failure on home turf.
Yes, Jeannie. I think you are right about the similarity between Washington’s charter school fight and Portland’s fight against a corporate school board. Bill Gates et al are behind all of it. Gates didn’t give in when the voters dissed WA charter schools and he won’t give up until Portland has a corporate reform school board. This is only the beginning.