The Los Angeles Times editorial board published an editorial today chastising the California Teachers Association for resisting privatization of public education via charters.
I assume that this editorial was in no way influenced by Eli Broad, who subsidizes the Times’ education coverage, which is a blatant conflict of interest.
The editorial board can’t see any critics of charters other than teachers’ unions, who presumably are protecting their jobs by fighting off the agenda that Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos are promoting.
It can’t see why parents and graduates of public schools (like me) think that turning public money over to private and unaccountable boards is a terrible idea.
One would think that the LA Times might express concern about the millions of dollars pumped into the school board race by billionaires like Eli Broad, Reed Hastings, Richard Riordan, and the Waltons. How did it happen that the California Charter Schools Association become the most influential lobby in Sacramento? Isn’t the Times just a little bit curious about the deployment of big money? Have they noticed that the same money has bought the school boards in Denver, Indianapolis, and other cities? Are they aware that Reed Hastings longs for the day when democratically elected school boards are obsolete. Meanwhile, he is willing to spend whatever it takes to buy them.
One would think that a major metropolitan newspaper would worry about the power of big money to buy local school board elections. When did any of these billionaires ever have a child or grandchild in the LAUSD public schools? Why doesn’t the editorial question why they want so badly to buy the school board? What do they want?
One would think that the LA Times might have noticed the numerous scandals associated with charter schools in Los Angeles and throughout California. Is that not a reason to fight for public schools and public accountability for public money?
Does the Los Angeles Times recognize that charter schools skim the students they want and dump the ones they don’t want? Is this not a dire threat to public education, which must take the students the charters don’t want?
This editorial must be a source of joy to Betsy DeVos. The game plan in California looks like the DeVos plan in Michigan: charters, charters, charters, while defunding public schools. Did it help struggling students? No. Did it improve the academic performance of the students of Michigan? No. Michigan’s NAEP scores have plummeted since DeVos launched her charter agenda in the state.
The people of California must stand up for public education, under democratic control and with full accountability and transparency.
Shame on the editorial board of the Los Angeles Times.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
More than shame. A lot more.
Cross posted at https://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/Los-Angeles-Times-Cheerle-in-Best_Web_OpEds-Billionaires_Conflict_Diane-Ravitch_Education-170630-308.html#comment664764
with 2 comments
Comment one with links at the site;
It is no secret that I follow the RAVITCH BLOG, of FORMER UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE’, DIANE RAVITCH who wrote How Not to Fix Our Public Schools AND Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools
This link http://www.alternet.org/education/new-national-map-shows-how-k-12-education-privateers-are-almost-every-state will show you how the privateers are in almost every state!
Comment 2 :
Our people must begin to TAKE A STAND ABOUT PUBLIC EDUCATION. Begin by thinking about this: imagine if experienced professional doctors or attorneys were eliminated from practice, and replaced with novices.
What gets me about this story is that the covert war on teachers https://dianeravitch.net/2017/06/21/nancy-flanagan-the-war-on-the-teaching-profession-is-no-longer-covert/comment-page-1/#comment-2693191 began in the late nineties, and the MEDIA across the nation sold our people that lie — that those tenured,lazy bad teachers needed to be thrown out, and were being protected by the unions. ALL THESE YEARS LATER, the billionaires in California are spinning the same LIES — 2 decades later! The schools HAVE BEEN emptied of those professionals who KNOW WHAT LEARNING LOOKS LIKE and how to ENABLE LEARNING and the acquisition of REAL CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS!
The privateers are demolishing PUBLIC EDUCATION http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2017/06/05/trump-devos-demolition-of-american-education/
turning ‘SCHOOLS’ into a marketplace… like they did with health care
… and WE KNOW HOW THAT WORKED OUT!
Your response is: RIGHT ON!
PBS is the cautionary tale.
Readers and viewers won’t accept continued media content that aids the wealthy’s plot to concentrate wealth. And, sponsors won’t pay media that lacks viewers and readers.
Tragic for the fourth estate and America.
The L.A. City Council approved, just a couple days ago, raises for union workers at the Department of Water and Power to improve the quality of service. In the run up to the vote, the LA Times had derided the raises as solely the work of “union bosses” who outsmarted the poor, helpless politicians and don’t care about economically disadvantaged DWP customers. The LA Times does not care about quality of service. Remember that. Now, as usual, the Times editorial board frames calls to reign in California’s Wild West version of charter legislation as solely the work of teachers union bosses who don’t care about the magic of some charters, but only seek to outmaneuver the Legislature for the sake of expanding union enrollment.
The editors must have forgotten or not have read the article in — lo and behold — the LA Times about the NAACP’s call for a moratorium on charter expansion. Maybe they think my teachers union dues go to the NAACP. Or maybe they think the NAACP doesn’t care about the economically disadvantaged or the advancement of colored people. Maybe the editors didn’t read about the recent study published in — lo and behold — the LA Times about how diversity helps students learn. Or maybe they refuse to accept the fact that charters increase segregation and decrease diversity.
http://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-edu-diverse-schools-ucla-study-20170628-story.html
Toward the end of the article, the editors suggest that charters need greater oversight, but only regarding cherrypicking and creaming of students. They do not mention for-profit CMO’s. They gloss over the growing ubiquity of charter theft and fraud scandals. They do not mention experience or qualification for teachers. They do not mention union protection making the profession more attractive to better applicants. They gloss over the loss of funding for district schools. In other words, they do not accept the fact that unions and districts work together to provide the best options because they DO NOT DISCUSS FINANCIAL REGULATION of charters. Follow the money, but don’t follow it down the neoliberal, anti-union rabbit hole dug by the editorial board. Remember? They do not care about quality of service. They just try to persuade you to believe you actually get more for less.
SICK!
We need money out of our politics! That is the only way we will ever win this. Big money promotes privatization of schools, public lands, healthcare, post office, etc. They are able to overpower us with their billions of dollars going toward what is good for the rich at the expense of the middle class and poor.
Take a look at the bios of the editorial board. You can’t expect many in this crew to go against corporate interests. Makes me appreciate the heavy lifting Carla Hall has done with her compassionate analysis of homelessness issues over the years. There is no one equally dedicated to public education. http://www.latimes.com/opinion/la-op-edboardbios23oct23-htmlstory.html#bio