The Network for Public Education Action Fund endorses Tony Thurmond for Superintendent of Public Institution in California!
California is a mess because of the intrusion of billionaires into education, billionaires who do not send their own children to public schools but want to control and privatize them. They pour millions into school board races, and they are now pouring millions into the state superintendent race, in hopes of capturing that important position.
Tony Thurmond’s opponent, Marshall Tuck, has a long history in the charter industry. Although he claims to be a Democrat (as in DFER), Tuck was endorsed by the California Republican party. Thurmond won the support of 95% of the delegates to the California Democratic party convention. Tuck was also endorsed by Arne Duncan, and Duncan’s endorsement means support of charter schools, high-stakes testing, and misuse of test scores to evaluate teachers.
California desperately needs accountability and transparency for its unregulated charter sector, not a fox in charge of the henhouse.
Please help Tony Thurmond. He is wildly outspent by the candidate of the billionaires, including Eli Broad, Reed Hastings, Arthur Rock, and the Walton family.
This is the NPE Action statement:
The Network for Public Education Action proudly endorsed East Bay Assemblyman, Tony Thurmond, for California State Superintendent of Public Instruction.
We are writing today to remind you just how important your support for Tony Thurmond is.
Marshall Tuck, a corporate reformer, is gaining ground thanks to millions supplied to his campaign by the California Charter School Association and its allies.
Here is what one of the state’s leading public school advocates Professor Julian Vasquez Heilig had to say about this race:
“Marshall Tuck would clearly be an important ally for the Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos education agenda in California. In contrast, Tony Thurmond has vowed to lead the resistance against their education agenda. Marshall Tuck has millions of campaign dollars given to him by his billionaire allies and others lobbying to privately control and privatize public education in California. While Tuck has millions, Thurmond has people power. As Superintendent of Public Instruction he would be our champion for community-based solutions and better funding for education across our state.”
It is no wonder that Tuck is the darling of the charter-school backing billionaires.
Tuck is a former charter school executive and CEO. In 2014, Tuck ran an unsuccessful campaign for State Superintendent, losing to incumbent Tom Torlakson. Tuck was heavily funded by outside money from national charter advocates, including Michael Bloomberg, Eli Broad, the Waltons, Laurene Powell Jobs, Arthur Rock and John Arnold. Thurmond stated that, “California’s voters don’t want this election to be bought by the Walton family, Eli Broad, and other billionaires who want to privatize public education.”
Thurmond is passionate about improving public schools. His public school education prepared him for a 20-year career in social work, where he ran after-school programs and taught life skills and career training. Those years of experience provided him with a unique perspective into the lives of California’s youth.
Thurmond has vowed to “lead the resistance against Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos and their agenda to undermine and defund our public education system,” promising that he will not support policies that seek to divert taxpayer dollars from public education to private schools.
Thurmond has already received numerous endorsements, including the endorsement of Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson. Thurmond will be on the general election ballot on November 6th. NPE Action urges our over 21,000 supporters in California to educate and inform your friends, family, neighbors and colleagues about Thurmond’s campaign and the importance of this election for the future of public education in California.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Here’s a newspaper op-ed endorsing Tuck:
Read that endorsement and try to find a single positive idea or actual contribution to any existing public school in the state:
“While both have been critical of for-profit charter schools, which have recently been prohibited under legislation signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, Thurmond proposes a “pause” on new charter schools moving forward, while Tuck disputes the need for such a drastic move.
Charter schools, which are public schools freed from some of the restrictions of traditional public schools, have swelled in popularity over the past decade. Why? Because in many districts, they offer a viable alternative to traditional public schools”
Public school families and students don’t exist in this world. They’re hardly mentioned and when they are mentioned it’s only in the negative and only on the subject of ed reform’s opposition to labor unions.
If you love charter schools and oppose labor unions you should definitely vote for Tuck. Other than that, he’s not offering anything.
Betsy DeVos should campaign for Tuck.
That would be tremendously helpful.
Charters and vouchers are all about Jim Crow.
“Holmes County Superintendent tells Secretary DeVos that the district has 63 substitutes filling teacher vacancies.”
Boy, that must be awkward.
DeVos and her huge and expensive entourage came all that way to parrot stale slogans on “choice!” and “innovation!” and someone in an actual existing public school raised a real issue.
I bet they beat a hasty retreat. 63 substitutes won’t be solved with slogans.
A campaign contribution to Thurmond is great. A letter to the LA Times (or SJ Mercury, I think?) asking them to publicize Tuck’s billionaire support, like the SF Cronicle has done, is great too.