Archives for category: Democrats for Education Reform
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Who Tried to Buy School Elections?

By dianeravitch
November 7, 2012 //
6

Robert Valiant has launched a website to gather information about who funded campaigns for charters and vouchers and against teachers, unions and public education.

If you have links to newspaper articles or other reliable sources, please post them to this website.

I hope that a law firm or investigative journalist will find out where Rhee collected money and which races she supported. She certainly influenced the legislature in Tennessee, where she helped Republucans gain a super-majority, enabling her ex-husband TFA State Commissioner Kevin Huffman to impose the full rightwing reform agenda.

http://dumpduncan.org/forum/discussion/42/registry-of-attempts-to-buy-education-elections-by-prizatizers.

Categories Bloomberg, Michael, Broad Foundation, Bush, Jeb, California, Charter Schools, Connecticut, Corporate Reformers, Democrats for Education Reform, Education Industry, For-Profit, Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, Indiana, Klein, Joel, Los Angeles, Louisiana, Luna, Tom, Merit pay, Privatization, US Education, Walton Foundation

Outside Cash Flooding into New Orleans School Board Race

By dianeravitch
November 4, 2012 //
4

This is becoming a familiar story: billionaires and millionaires are choosing a school board member in New Orleans. One of the city’s leading charter advocates, Sarah Newell Usdin, is the recipient of more than $110,000, way more than her opponents. Usdin was executive director of New Schools for New Orleans, which received nearly $30 million from the federal government to open charter schools. she also worked for the New Teacher Project and is an alumna of Teach for America. Among her contributors: Joel Klein and hedge fund manager Boykin Curry, both residents of New York City, not New Orleans.

According to the National School Boards Association, 87% of school board members spend less than $5,000 to run for office.

In the most recent state board election, Kira Orange Jones, the director of Teach for America in New Orleans, raised $450,000 in her successful effort to oust an incumbent. She had the support of the Wall Street hedge fund managers’ organization called Democrats for Education Reform. Among her generous contributors: Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Eli Broad, both billionaires who don’t live in Louisiana. Jones’ opponent raised $9,000.

There seems to be a concerted program by DFER and its allies to pour money into local and state school races and issues. The number of contributors is small, but they swamp the local races. The same names pop up again and again. Their agenda is always the same: testing, union-busting, TFA, and privatization.

Categories Bloomberg, Michael, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Democrats for Education Reform, Education Industry, Education Reform, Louisiana, New Orleans, Privatization, Teach for America TFA

Big Out-of-State $$$ Floods Local Race in New Jersey: Why?

By dianeravitch
November 4, 2012 //
5

Big political contributions have poured into a local school board race in Perth Amboy, New Jersey.

Donors in California andColorado are supporting a slate of school board candidates in that small New Jersey district.

As Jersey Jazzman explains here, the school board in Perth Amboy has been trying to oust the district’s divisive superintendent. Acting Commissioner of Education Chris Cerf has protected her, preventing the board from getting rid of her. The election provides an opportunity to fire the board and install one that will defend Chris Christie’s agenda: anti-teacher, anti-union, anti-tenure, pro-privatization.

As Jersey Jazzman writes:

It seems absurd, and yet it’s true: four wealthy Californians and one wealthy Coloradan – heavy hitters in the tech, financial, and health care sectors – have contributed tens of thousands of dollars to a slate of candidates running for the school board in Perth Amboy, a city of 50,000 with a majority Hispanic population.

“According to New Jersey election records, the slate of candidates calling themselves “Better Schools Now!” has collected $64,700, mostly from sources outside of Perth Amboy. In contrast, an opposing slate, “New Vision, New Voice” has collected $7,005, with all of its donations over $300 coming from within the city.”

There is a clear pattern emerging here and elsewhere around the country: a small number of extremely wealthy individuals are pouring huge amounts of money into elections, state and local, to buy the result they want: privatization, budget cuts, anti-union policies, a compliant school board.

It happened last year in Denver and last spring spring in Louisiana; its happening now in Perth Amboy, New Orleans, Idaho, Santa Clara County (CA), Washington State, Georgia, and elsewhere.

This is not haphazard. These are takeover targets.

Time for an investigative journalist to find out who is coordinating this subversion of democracy.

Categories Administrators, superintendents, Cerf, Chris, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Democrats for Education Reform, New Jersey, Teacher Tenure

Why Teachers Are Angry and Confused

By dianeravitch
November 1, 2012 //
23

An article in the Connecticut Post says that “Teachers Are Confused for Good Reason.”

The bottom line:

“If Democrats continue with their right-wing conservative educational policies, they will alienate the teachers and teacher unions that have traditionally been the party’s staunchest supporters. More importantly, these misguided policies and initiatives will deal a severe blow to public education and to the quality of the teaching profession as well as to the morale of our teachers. You cannot on one hand preach about the importance of teachers while implementing educational policies that are destroying public education in this country.”

It is indeed confusing and demoralizing to realize that Democrats have adopted Republican education policies of testing, accountability, privatization, and competition. No one expected that Barack Obama would abandon the party’s historic support of public education and equity. He has.

The Democrats–at least those in control of the party in Washington–have turned their backs on the unions, and most especially the teachers’ unions, which represent more than three million teachers. Since teachers have families, that represents many millions of votes.

President Obama is fortunate to be running against an extremist candidate, because had the Republicans put forward a moderate person (are there any left in today’s Republican party), teachers would be voting for him or her.

As I earlier stated unequivocally, I will vote for Obama, but it won’t be because of his disastrous rightwing education policies. Race to the Top is worse than No Child Left Behind. It takes the assumptions of NCLB (testing will fix everything) and applies them to teachers. Teachers will be fired, schools will be closed, and no problem will be solved.

I will vote for Obama because I fear the far-rightwing of the GOP. They will attempt to destroy public education, without delay or apology. And they will do the same to other social programs as well.

With Obama, there is some hope that he might change his mind once re-elected. There is some hope that he will no longer need the Wall Street hedge fund managers whose funds helped elect him and who demand testing and charters (but not for their children!). There is some hope that he will change course. There is some hope that other Democrats will hear the voices of parents and teachers and recognize that Democrats need their own education policies, not those of George W. Bush and Bill Gates.

With Romney, there is none. As his wife proudly boasted, it’s time to “throw out” the public education system.

No, it’s not.

Categories Charter Schools, Democrats, Democrats for Education Reform, Obama, Romney, Mitt

Follow the Money, Again

By dianeravitch
October 8, 2012 //
8

Here’s a hard-hitting investigative report on the money pouring into California to beat the unions by cutting off dues collections. The face of this campaign is Gloria Romero, who flipped to the right and is now the face of Democrats for Education Reform, the pro-privatization Wall Street hedge fund managers’ group.

Seems the Koch brothers tossed in a few million, which makes it hard to maintain the pretense that the anti-union campaign is warm, fuzzy and progressive.

The only error that I spotted is calling ALEC “neoconservative.” It is a reactionary organization pushing radical schemes to suppress voter rights, relax gun control, crush unions, relax environmental regulation, and privatize public education, among other things.

Categories ALEC, Corporate Reformers, Democrats for Education Reform, Education Industry, Education Reform, For-Profit, Parent trigger, Privatization

Wall Street Eyes Profit Potential in Public School Budgets

By dianeravitch
October 1, 2012 //
9

The privatization movement has swung into high gear.

Many people find it hard to understand why so many Wall Street hedge fund managers and equity investors have suddenly become interested in public education.

Here is a good explanation.

No one ever went wrong by following the money.

Who wins? Who loses?

And another important issue: where is the evidence that privatization improves education or saves money? Or does it save money while making education worse?

Categories Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Democrats for Education Reform, Education Industry, Education Reform, For-Profit, Privatization, U.S. Department of Education

Save Public Education in Indiana!

By dianeravitch
September 27, 2012 //
16

A reader in Indiana appeals for help to stop the ALEC-inspired takeover and privatization of public education in that state:


Tony Bennett is the lead character in Alec’s plan to privatize public education. Alec has always been populated by nearly every Indiana state senator and representative, but these past few years have seen Indiana overly represented with State Representative Dave Frizzell as president of the board of directors and a Senator Jim Buck as a member of the board. The recent education reform laws were word for word the laws that Alec wrote several years ago. Tony Bennett and these radical conservatives have set the stage for a disgusting takeover of public education. They know that Mike Pence will be elected governor and with a GOP legislature they will implement a school corporation take over law. With that in hand they will take over Indianapolis Public Schools and possibly try for Gary and Fort Wayne. These people are worse than disgusting; they will say anything to discredit and dismantle public education to see their dream of bringing in corporate education. Sadly there are some Democrats that help with this such as former Indianapolis mayor Bart Peterson and several Dem legislators who have bought into the Arne Duncan style of Democrats for Education Reform. Indiana is being sucked into a black hole and the educators are screaming for help. We need national attention which would bring some bigger dollars to help Bennett’s opponent, Glenda Ritz get elected. Diane help us, please spread the word of this dire situation!

Categories Corporate Reformers, Democrats for Education Reform, Duncan, Arne, Education Reform, Indiana, Privatization, US Education

Who Paid for the $1 Million Ad in Chicago?

By dianeravitch
September 23, 2012 //
15

Fred Klonsky has the inside scoop on who paid for the $1 million ad that has filled the airwaves in Chicago after the teachers’ strike.

He says the money came from Ravenel Boykin Curry IV and his wife Celerie. Fred’s brother Mike Klonsky says that other hedge fund managers joined to pay for the ads.

Curry is a board member of the Wall Street hedge fund manager organization called “Democrats for Education Reform.” DFER, as it is known, loves charter schools. It also believes that it is time to get tough with teachers.

It must make the hedge fund managers so angry to know that teachers in the Chicago public schools make an average of–what?–$70,000? $75,000? One of the Chicago equity investors is quoted by Mike Klonsky as saying that his goal is to separate the teachers from the union. Of course, that leaves teachers voiceless and powerless.

You just can’t get good help these days.

Categories Corporate Reformers, Democrats for Education Reform

Who Paid for the Anti-Union Ads?

By dianeravitch
September 23, 2012 //
6

During the strike, there was an outpouring of ads undermining and attacking the union. This blogger wondered who was paying for them. The group is called Education Reform Now. It is the non-profit arm of Democrats for Education Reform. DFER, as it is known, is the political action group of Wall Street hedge fund managers.

So many of them went to Andover, Exeter, Deerfield Academy, and other elite private schools. But for some reason, they want something different for poor and minority children: Not schools like Andover, Exeter, etc., which have small classes and a rich curriculum and beautiful facilities, but boot camps, where children learn to be silent, to walk in straight lines, and to obey without question.

Someday sociologists will figure out how the hedge fund managers became the primary players in “school reform,” and why they want minority children to have a schooling for compliance, not the kind of schooling they had or the kind they want for their own children. And why they hate unions and look down on teachers.

For now, it will remain a puzzle of our time.

Categories Charter Schools, Chicago, Corporate Reformers, Democrats for Education Reform, Education Industry, Education Reform, Privatization, Testing

Reformers Buy $1 Million Ads to Spin the Strike

By dianeravitch
September 21, 2012 //
4

Fred Klonsky reports that Education Reform Now, the Wall Street hedge fund managers’ front group, spent $1 million on TV ads to try to persuade the public that the Mayor won. ERN is part of Democrats for Education Reform, the Wall Street boys who want Democrats to adopt Republican policies. DFER has cannily used its vast resources to reshape Democratic policy to align with those of the far-right in the Republican party.

Klonsky tried to imagine how many books or teachers’ salaries that $1 million would pay for. But groups like ERN/DFER don’t spend money on improving schools. They spend money to control schools.

Categories Corporate Reformers, Democrats for Education Reform, Emanuel, Rahm
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »