The story of the task force charged with reviewing the charter law and the fiscal impact of charters on public schools continues to evolve, and not in a good way.
Of the 11 members of the task force appointed by Tony Thurmond, in consultation with Governor Gavin Newsom, at least six are directly connected to the charter industry.
How can this be possible when the charter industry supported former Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa against Gavin Newsom, and when the charter industry spent millions to defeat Tony Thurmond, outspending his supporters by a margin of 2-1?
Here is the task force with new information about one member, the superintendent of El Dorado County:
The task force members are:
- Cristina de Jesus, president and chief executive officer, Green Dot Public Schools California (charter chain);
- Dolores Duran, California School Employees Association;
- Margaret Fortune, California Charter Schools Association board chair; Fortune School of Education, president & CEO;
- Lester Garcia, political director, SEIU Local 99 (Local 99 took $100,000 from Eli Broad to oppose Jackie Goldberg, a critic of charters);
- Alia Griffing, political director, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 57;
- Beth Hunkapiller, educator and administrator, Aspire Public Schools (charter chain);
- Erika Jones, board of directors, California Teachers Association;
- Ed Manansala, superintendent, El Dorado County; board president, California County Superintendents Educational Services Association; the El Dorado County Office set up a Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) specifically to service students with disabilities in charter schools and wooed charter students away from their local districts; El Dorado supposedly offers services to disabled students enrolled in charter schools who live hundreds of miles away;
- Cindy Marten, superintendent, San Diego Unified School District;
- Gina Plate, vice president of special education, California Charter Schools Association (charter lobby);
- Edgar Zazueta, senior director, policy & governmental relations, Association of California School Administrators (ACSA endorsed Marshall Tuck against Tony Thurmond).
By my count, six members of the 11-member panel are directly connected to the charter industry, including two from the lobbying organization CCSA. That’s a majority.
As a supporter of public schools, I supported Tony Thurmond as best I could on this blog. I personally contributed to his campaign. I thought that his election and the election of Gavin Newsom meant that charter schools in California would be held to the same standards of academic, financial, and ethical accountability as public schools; I hoped that the state would stop stacking the deck in favor of charters. I hoped that necessary reforms would eliminate shady operators and grifters and put a halt to the unchecked proliferation of unstable, unsound charter schools.
Now, I am not so sure.
The fox is in charge of the henhouse.
If you are as outraged as I am, if you feel you have been had, please contact Superintendent Tony Thurmond.
Only 10% of the students in the state of California attend charter schools.
Why do their representatives get to police themselves?
Why do their representatives get to decide whether they are hurting the public schools that most students attend?
Why does the charter industry get to decide whether it is okay for them to drain funds and impose budget cuts on public schools?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Is Thurmond suffering from amnesia?
The charter industry throw $30 million dollars of the most despicable and false smears and slurs against during the campaign last year.
Just to refresh Thurmond’s and everyone else’s memory, check out this sh#% from Thurmond’s opponent and his opponent’s backers:
https://www.politifact.com/california/statements/2018/nov/05/students-parents-and-teachers-supporting-marshall-/false-attack-ads-claim-tony-thurmond-was-reprimand/
Now it’s like, “Oh, hey, I love you guys. Please make up 80% of the charter school task force.”
Dr. Ravitch’s comparison to the Tobacco industry making up 80% of task force to study the effects of tobacco is spot on.
People need to contact the new State Superintendent about having a more balanced charter school panel — a panel that’s comprised of less than 50% of people (or of people allied with such people) — who spent $30 million to destroy him politically, an onslaught that the State Superintendent survived, so he wouldn’t have to put up with their attempts to quash charter school oversight and accountability.
Here’s Thurmond’s office phone number:
916-319-0800
Here’s Thiurmond’s email:
TThurmond@cde.ca.gov
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Thanks for the contact info.
If Newsom’s chief of staff, Ann O’Leary, had a part in the selection, the outcome may be explained by her former CAP association. CAP is Gates-funded and promotes charter schools. CAP’s education staff includes TFA’ers and a former employee of Jeb Bush’ Excellence in Education.
Podesta, the founder of CAP can be seen in an on-line video with Chester Finn calling on donors to support privatizing candidates.
O’Leary also was an advisor to the Silicon Valley Fund.
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Carol Burris and I met with O’Leary during the 2016 election, tryingto persuade her that Clinton should oppose charters. She agreed to oppose for-profit charters but was unwilling to oppose charters as a concept.
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CAP = establishment Dems = DINO’s
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YES. A shockingly exact reality in this understanding: the “…comparison to the Tobacco industry making up 80% of task force to study the effects of tobacco is spot on.” OVER AND OVER teachers and parents fight back, support a candidate or leader who promises change, and then watch as that candidate or leader immediately goes into a submissive partnership with the charter industry.
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The call to 916-319-0800 is directed to the charter schools office. The secretary there advises to send an e-mail.
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So duplicitous and disgraceful – But all-too-common with the privatizer set – completely ignore front-line teachers who have the actual experience to tell you what’s really going on and instead hire corporate lackeys to secure lucrative service and leasing contracts. “Public charter school” – what a joke – Where are all the public ed teachers on charter boards?
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Excellent points, Callisto.
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Promise one thing and do another is what politicians do.
I suspect there is probably a specific gene for this behavior and that politicians have the dominant allele.
Not sure why anyone is surprised.
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It’s called the “lying gene”
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Gavin is a Newsom
Charter in disguise
Really is a nuisance
Really no surprise
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Only thing to discipline the privatizing govt. is another another teacher strike, biggger, longer, more militant in its demands, the first ones settled too soon for too little. Teachers need to walkout again and stay out until the charterizers lose and public schoolkids win. Voting is too deferred and uncertain and too controlled by Big Money. The only way to defeat the Billionaire Boys Club is for teachers to withdraw their labor and let the cronies in power see what happens.
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Reblogged this on Crazy Normal – the Classroom Exposé and commented:
Why does the charter school industry get to decide whether it is okay for them to drain funds and impose budget cuts on public schools when only 10-percent of the K-12 students in the state attend those corporate charter schools?
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