Maurice Cunningham, a professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts, is a specialist in exposing the influence of “dark money” in our political life, especially in the area of education politics. In this post, he explores the connections among Christian conservatives, economic royalists like the Waltons and Charles Koch, and the so-called “National Parents Union,” which enjoys Walton funding.
The same people now running the NPU were funded by the Waltons, Mike Bloomberg, and other billionaires in 2016 to press for unlimited charter expansion in Massachusetts. When Cunningham exposed the money behind the “Yes on 2” campaign, the wind went out of its sails. Voters realized that the campaign was intended to divert money from their public schools to billionaire hobbies. I wrote about the fight over Proposition 2 in Massachusetts in my latest book Slaying Goliath as an example of successful parent-teacher resistance to the billionaires.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
The ed reform “movements” contribution to the 90% who attend public schools after the pandemic:
testing mandate and now this:
“Concerns over the increased potential for cheating are front and center in debates over testing while students are learning remotely. A new report from a group of researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in New York details their cheat-resistant online exam protocol, an innovation that could fill an immediate need and pave the way for the future of testing.”
Their number one concern is public school students cheating on the standardized tests they may have to administer remotely.
Tell me again why the public should elect and hire these people. What’s the value add? Wouldn’t I be better off hiring people who actually value public schools and public school students?
If we want testing we can hire any one of hundreds of contractors. Surely we don’t need to hire or elect and pay full time testing promoters.
https://fordhaminstitute.org/ohio/commentary/reducing-cheating-online-exams
And if you are in the mood to raise your blood pressure ,”The Power Worshipers” by Katherine Stewart details the whole convoluted nest with a shout out to Diane in a chapter on Charters and Vouchers. Actually most of the book touches on Education as the author starts it with a description of a Religious Club in her child’s Public School .
Diane wrote a great article:
What’s Your Zip Code? Why Poverty Matters in Public Education
Our society has not taxed itself to make sure that all kids have great schools
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/03/16/whats-your-zip-code-why-poverty-matters-public-education
Thank god for Maurice Cunningham. (I love the expression “economic royalists” for Waltons and Koch!) Hopefully his missives continue to inform MA voters. They are generally an ornery, practical and independent lot who are not likely to be buffaloed by extremists looking to grab their school taxes as long as they’re kept in the know.
Cunningham cites a $1000 check from Mass. Parents United to NHCLC
Related- 2014 Cision PR Newswire- “National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference Joins Christian and Conservative Leaders in Support of Common Core Standards”
Endorsing quotes posted came from (1) Gov. Jeb Bush (2) Gov. Mike Huckabee (3) the Director of the Center for Catholic School Effectiveness…member of the Executive Committee for Common Core Catholic Identity Initiative (Loyola University) (4) the Executive Director of a center for Catholic education (Boston College) (5) a Liberty University professor who wrote, “Common Core literacy standards …develop the kind of readers that people of a Word-based faith seek to cultivate.”