Most people thought that the Paycheck Protection Program would help small businesses survive the economic crisis caused by the pandemic. They were surprised to learn that charter schools, which never lost government funding, scooped up some of the $660 billion.
Guy Brandenburg posted the list of D.C. charter schools that picked up some dough from the PPP.
Many of the D.C. charters are backed by the billionaire Walton family.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
If the representatives really aspired to help the mom and pop businesses, they would have written the law differently. Instead the SBA really wanted to help the little people, the representatives would have written the bill for companies with a small number of total employees. If the Heals Act contains the same language as the PPP, many large companies including charter chains and other so-called non-profits with a lobbying presence will be first in line unless there is specific language to exclude them.
exposing the hard reality
I don’t know about “most people” but no one who knows XLV was “surprised to learn” the lyin’s share of the money went sideways …
Ed reformers are lousy advocates for kids who attend public schools and we’re seeing the results of that now, where public schools are the last priority of lawmakers.
This is what happens when you have an entire policy and lobbying apparatus who come out of the same echo chamber and prioritize their ideological preferences for charters and private schools over public schools. Public school students get neglected and ignored. It happened after the financial crash and it is happening again in this crisis.
I’m shocked at how little effort there has been to assist public schools. +/- 50 million students. No one works on their behalf. If it wasn’t for teachers unions I don’t think there would be any pressure on lawmakers to help them at all.
Compare these two ed reform initiatives:
Secretary DeVos Awards More than $180 Million to States Rethinking K-12 Education to Better Meet Students’ Needs During Coronavirus Disruption
Trump Administration Announces $85 Million to Support Disadvantaged Students in Nation’s Capital Attending K-12 Private Schools of Their Choice
180 million available to every school in the country compared to 85 million devoted exclusively to private schools in DC.
It’s obscene how poorly they treat public school students and families. They could not make it more clear that our students and schools are disfavored and the dead last priority of the elite policy crew.
Agree Chiara: “It’s obscene how poorly they treat public school students and families.”
WHY? Those who go to elite schools are ENTITLED to the MAX. They don’t understand democracy and neither does the dump and his gangsters.
Anyone can go see for themselves. Go look at the US Department of Education public statements and programs.
Public school students are missing. They simply no longer serve the unfashionable public school sector, so, 90% of students.
When your “movement” consists of 100% public school bashing and 100% charter and private school cheerleading that tends to result in a lack of support for public schools and public school students.
And that has happened. Which is why it’s almost August and we’ve seen no practical effort expended on the schools that 90% of US students actually attend.
Public school students are the collateral damage of the ideological project to privatize public education. They’re the sacrifice.
Michigan and some other states are suing the DOE for trying to divert funds for poor students into vouchers. Frankly, DeVos and Trump could care less about our public schools, students and teachers. https://www.freep.com/story/news/education/2020/07/07/betsy-devos-covid-relief-money-private-schools/5392085002/
“Secretary DeVos Awards More than $180 Million to States Rethinking K-12 Education to Better Meet Students’ Needs During Coronavirus Disruption”
None of this will ever get to a public school student. It will be handed out to the same 150 ed reformers who all came out of Walton or TFA or Broad and they’ll funnel to support and promote the private and charter schools they prefer.
There isn’t a public school student in this country who will see a dime of it. Screwed again.
This just in: President Donald Trump took a break today from feeding immigrant children to Stephen Miller to address his nonresponse to the Coronavirus. “We’ve done an incredible job,” he said, much to the annoyance of the press corps.
When challenged about the president’s statement, Kalyleigh McInanity, Miss Communications, pointed out that “incredible” can mean “not credible,” making the statement technically true. She also pointed out that a concerned Jabba the Trump had even gone so far as to say, “Nobody likes me,” an historic first uttered truth during his tenure.
The President also announced that he has instructed not-his-toadie William Barr to send not-secret-storm-troops to all cities with Democratic mayors to use not-lethal weapons on Moms wearing yellow shirts.
People have scorn for the mostly right wing bozos who blame the evil media for everything bad, they are nothing but socialist and communist liars, yada yada yada. That is just plain stupid….the bozos are far too numerous—-their mindless rants have had too much success……..in creating licenses to not think. Public education also has a media problem……..it is not a subject easily sorted out, and not very exciting in so many ways. It is a subject that does not need licenses to refuse to think..it needs the opposite..and if it creates an uncomfortable feeling to blame the media, those who market information need to be held accountable for what seems just too complicated to devote a lot of attention to. Diane’s site presents a lot of what needs attention…..keep doing that. As difficult a task as it is……parents and teachers care about what needs to be done……a lot of “experts” do not seem to realize that.
Public education also has a media problem. It is not a subject easily sorted out, and not very exciting in so many ways.
Wow. You said a LOT there! I often think this. There is a “debate” in the media about some education issue, and it’s done in incredibly distorting soundbites, and the real issues aren’t addressed because they are nitty gritty and boring and require a lot of detailed analysis. For example, the current national “standards” and the standardized ELA tests are both scams. The ELA “standards” are childish and backward and unscientific and leave out most of what’s important in the English language arts. And the tests don’t measure what they purport to measure, and this is demonstrable. But demonstrating these things requires a lot of detailed analyses, and no one wants to hear those. For a couple decades now I have been shocked that English teachers and those who prepare English teachers didn’t laugh the standards and the standardized reading tests off the national stage.
“But demonstrating these things requires a lot of detailed analyses, and no one wants to hear those.”
Well, yes. I understand. But again, that’s the job.