The headquarters of the Walton/Walmart billionaires is in Bentonville, Arkansas, so it is not surprising that the Walton Family Foundation and the members of the family (net worth: $100 billion) have decided to privatize the public schools of Arkansas.
Arkansas is a poor state. It doesn’t have an abundance of private schools that are as good as its underfunded public schools but the Waltons want every child to have a voucher or a charter school to attend.
Legislators are easy to buy in a poor state. The Waltons own quite a few.
The Arkansas Education Association did the research and described the empire that the Waltons have constructed in service to their goal of owning and privatizing the public schools of Arkansas. In the Walton plan, there will be no “public schools,” only privately managed charter schools and vouchers for religious schools.
The AEA report lays out the Walton Empire of Privatization in detail, with their bought and paid for think tanks and academics.
Although this report includes a lot of names, it is just one slice of the nationwide effort to plunder our public schools. These organizations have a vast infrastructure and deep pockets that can seem daunting, but our students are counting on us to stand up and speak out.
While they may have more cash, we have the power of numbers and common sense. Arkansas’s taxpayers and students would be better served by investing our scarce resources to improve our neighborhood public schools and helping all of the students who attend them.
Our public schools are the anchor of our communities, and the best way to expand opportunity for all. This idea does not require twisted statistics, or market tested language to trick people into supporting it. It’s as old as the country itself.
Do you think any member of the Walton Family ever feels ashamed of the damage they are wreaking on our democracy?
What about their minions? Have they no shame?
Arkansas- 2nd poorest state (based on median family income). The Waltons want Arkansas to beat Mississippi to the title of poorest state.
Presumably, Bill Gates and Charles Koch will cheer the outcome.
Gates and Koch will cheer — all while figuring out how to get their own fingers into the Walton pie.
It’s up at https://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/The-Walton-Plot-to-Privati-in-General_News-Education_Education-Funding_Education-Laws_Educational-Crisis-190904-720.html
For the comment, I posted: Little Rock, Arkansas: Dr. Anika Whitfield Pleads for a Return of Democracy | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Bellwether Education Partners (May 2019) “Education in the American South”
From the summary, “Education reformers…must look to …engage churches…”
The billionaires are using religion to undercut democracy.The Koch brothers financed Paul Weyrich’s theocracy. Leonard Leo’s stacking of judgeships with conservatives has links to religion.
Bellwether is Gates-funded. It was founded by the same person who founded or co-founded Pahara Institute (in 2018, the Superintendent of Los Angeles Catholic schools became a Pahara fellow), TFA and New Schools Venture Fund.
The founder, Kim Smith, infamously said in a Philanthropy Roundtable interview that the goal of charters was “…brands on a large scale”.
Sadly, our country has a “winners take all mentality.” Billionaires are inserting themselves into policy to impose their world view on everybody else. Income inequality is undermining democracy. We need to keep the public in public education as it is the only hope for any level of equity, access and opportunity. Public education is one of the most democratizing forces in our country. Charters and vouchers can never duplicate what public education has done so well for generations. The Waltons’ vision will create more separate and unequal schools, and that is exactly what we do not need.
From the Arkansas Catholic (3-11-2014), “Fayetteville Catholic Aims to Build Top Charter School in Arkansas”. And, of course, the school’s top manager claims his 14 to 18 year- old students are “scholars” which is consistent with reformer verbiage.
They don’t always win, though, the Walton family, even given their huge stacks of cash and purchase of policy.
IMO ed reform’s ideological opposition to existing public schools often becomes their undoing. The vast majority of people use public schools. The public eventually figures out that ed reform offers absolutely nothing of value to their schools or students.
Ed reformers never learn the lesson, so they never fix the problem. They blame labor unions, or parents, or teachers- never themselves.
The Waltons, and the politicians they buy, simply don’t contribute anything positive to existing public schools. It’s such an echo chamber none of them see this, let alone remedy it. Go look at any of the ed reform initiatives of the past year. They operate in places where 80 to 90% of the public use public schools, and it’s as if those students and families don’t exist.
They came up with ONE policy for public school students in Ohio this year- it is, of course, a TEST. It’s all they got- charters, vouchers and tests. I genuinely believe they get kicked out of the club if they offer anything positive or of value to any public school or public school student in the country. It’s so consistent it can’t be accidental.
“Contributing nothing positive” isn’t accidental, it’s in the Walton heirs’ DNA. They invested in Theranos. Their home state ranks among the bottom 3 states in share of total US GDP growth.
The Waltons’ labor policy has turned off many people as well. I think the Waltons are trying to score some points with the public by no longer selling ammunition in their stores. The NRA is losing its mind over this change at Walmart.
May relate to a lawsuit against Walmart.
Walton Family … UGH, UGH, UGH. This family has no morals … $$$$$ is their god.
Reblogged this on The Most Revolutionary Act and commented:
“Arkansas is a poor state. It doesn’t have an abundance of private schools that are as good as its underfunded public schools but the Waltons want every child to have a voucher or a charter school to attend. Legislators are easy to buy in a poor state. The Waltons own quite a few.”
It wasn’t until 3 months ago that a prominent Catholic cardinal severed ties with Steve Bannon. Prior to that, the response of bishops to Bannon’s criticism of church immigration policy was notable for what it omitted. The bishops cited views on “life issues, marriage, health and immigration as rooted in the gospel”- no mention of income inequality.
Two months ago we learned about a Bannon project, Catholicvote, in which location data from phones was used to target political ads to Catholics. It included all phones that had been in the Catholic churches in the targeted geographic area.
Tax dollars for vouchers should not go to Catholic schools. One reason, their 18 year- students become a market segment for GOP propaganda.
The difference between Stephen Miller, who is Jewish and, Steve Bannon, who is Catholic is that Miller has been publicly condemned by name, by American Jews who describe his opinions and behavior as inconsistent with their shared faith and culture. The 80% Jewish vote against Trump backs up their talk. In contrast, the Pope, who resides in Europe, is alone among the faithful in condemning the full range of views that are held by Catholics like Bannon. 60% of white Catholics voted for Trump.The wealthy driving the Catholic Church in America are a threat to American and Christian values.
Last year, the Los Angeles superintendent of Catholic schools became a Fellow of the Gates-funded Pahara Institute. BTW- Gates said in an interview that he participates in the Catholic Church where his wife and children attend.
Arkansas is a poor state? You haven’t been to Arkansas lately! Take a town like Mena, where the drug for arms sales took place thanks to the Clinton-Bush crime syndicate (check Iran-Contra). My how 20 years has made a difference! Arkansas is booming, thanks to the CIA and corporate affiliates. It’s a Midwest tourist Mecca, Hot Springs, cold cadavers, and all the drugs you could ever hope to find in one ‘poor’ state.
A WIN for PUBLIC EDUCATION
DFER’s politician, corporate Congresswoman, Susan Davis of California announced she is not going to run for re-election in her solidly Democratic California district. Good riddance, she was the only active politician who attended the BiPartisan Policy Center’s higher ed consort sponsored by Gates and Arnold. The lobby shop, BPC, which benefits the rich with legislation, is Tom Daschle’s monstrosity against democracy. Daschle chairs
the corporate funded Center for American Progress.
Davis wanted a “charter school in every district”.
Why is the Alabama Education Association credited with the research? I know that trump wants them included in major matters but it looks to me like a typo in this piece. I first noted it in a post by Common Dreams of this report.
AEA posted the research. To whom would you give credit?
I would give the credit to the Arkansas Education Association. Unless it was actually the Alabama Education Association who completed the research.
You are right! My mistake. I will fix it. Senior moment!