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Democrats Who Support Charters Now Face Criticism in Presidential Contest

By dianeravitch
March 6, 2019 //
82

 

It’s about time. A story in the Los Angeles Times notes that those Democratic candidates who supported charters (and still do) are facing a backlash by their party’s voters. The wave of teachers’ strikes have brought into sharp relief the fact that most families enroll their children in public schools, not charter schools; that charter schools are a priority for Republicans, Wall Street, and far-right libertarians like Betsy DeVos; and that support for public schools is a bedrock principle of the Democratic Party.

The candidate who was most outspoken as a supporter of both charters and vouchers was Cory Booker. He worked in alliancewith anti-union Governor Chris Christie to bring chartersto Newark. He worked closely with Betsy Dezvos and gave a speech to her organization. He was honored by the rightwing Manhattan Institute for supporting school choice. He wanted to turn Newark into the New Orleans of the North, with no public schools and no teachers’ union. He still defends that record.

Michael Bloomberg was a big supporter of charters in New York City and favored them over the public schools he took control of. He’s now out of the race, so no need to worry other than that he will find a Democratic DeVos to fund. He despises public schools.

Michael Bennett of Colorado supported charters when he was superintendent of schools in Denver. Governor Hickenlooper appointed Bennett to the Senate.

Governor Jay Inslee of Washington State did not stand up to Bill Gates after the Washington State Supreme Court decided that charter schools and not entitled to receive public money. Gates persuaded his friends in the legislature to give lottery money to charters, and Gov. Inslee neither signed nor vetoed the law, allowing Gates to get state funding. Not a profilein courage.

The election of 2020 will be a deciding moment, when Democratic candidates are asked to declare whether they support the public schools, or the privately-managed, scandal-ridden charters that enroll 6% of the nation’s students.

 

 

 

 

Categories Accountability, Betsy DeVos, Billionaires, Bloomberg, Michael, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Democrats, Education Industry, Education Reform, New Orleans, Newark, Privatization, Scandals, School Choice

Los Angeles: Candidate Drops Out, Endorses Jackie!

By dianeravitch
March 4, 2019 //
3

 

Dr. Rocio Rivas dropped out of the race for District 5 school board member and endorsed Jackie Goldberg.

The election is tomorrow.

She reminds us that thiselection is a fight for our democracy.

We cannot let the billionaires buy another seat on the board.

Dr. Rivas writes:

 

As a candidate in tomorrow’s election, I am asking you to read this post before you go to the polls. Our nation’s Democracy is at stake. We are at a very critical moment in Los Angeles’ political and social history. City Hall’s pay-to-play, corrupt culture has been publicly exposed by the FBI’s raid of a former LAUSD School Board President and the current City Councilman Jose Huizar. Although charges have not been filed, the raids have given light to the overt corruption and fraud that many suspected but was rarely covered by the press.

Overt corruption and fraud also entered our public school system with the election of Dr. Refugio Rodriguez. His indictment and conviction on felony charges exposed more of what we knew about the charter school privatizing industry and the individuals behind his rise to power, Eli Broad and his billionaire posse, including Betsy DeVos. Our city’s public institutions are supposed to work towards the best interests of Angelenos from all races, creeds, religions, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, but they have lost their way and are failing us. The Angelenos that represent the 99% have been left behind.  Democracy was put up for sale and We, the people, are on the losing end of reality. It has been clear to me for quite some time that We, the people, must take back our democracy from special interests, corporate ideologues and all the billionaire money that has been buying its way into democracy one elected official at a time.  We can stop this now with our vote! I am a true believer in that our vote is our democracy!

In order for our democracy to work, our vote must be an informed one. We must be aware of where every candidate has taken money from and who they are directly or indirectly connected to.  We cannot be impressed by the amount of money they have raised or swayed by the number of mailers they used to fill the mailbox. The pictures and words they use are carefully tested marketing messages.  We must demand that they back those messages up with policy that benefits our children.

We need to see the conflict of interest now! We must be vigilant of the red flags now before it is too late.  Once these compromised candidates are elected, they are virtually untouchable. Your needs will no longer matter to them. The only voices they will listen to are the billionaire investors who purchased their services.

Tomorrow, March 05, 2019, is an important election — I cannot stress that enough.  Your vote in this Special Election for the LAUSD School Board to represent District 5 is a critical one, Your vote will help to determine the future of our public education system which is the very foundation of our Democracy — the Los Angeles Unified School District that will not be unified if Superintendent Austin Beutner and company get away with their plan to dismantle it.

Jackie Goldberg is the only clear choice to stop the plan between Eli Broad and the public officials he has purchased from making sure LAUSD fails and is broken apart.

I decided to run for the Board of Education to represent District 5 because as a mother I needed to protect my son’s civil right and human right to a free, quality public education that is democratically governed!  I want our choice for his education, the local public school, to remain operating and thriving.  As I fight for my son, I fight for all children in this city.

My campaign stood for ethical and moral public education institutions.  I have had enough of the lies and manipulation from elected officials, the political machines and unions that want to control public institutions utilizing corporate ideologue’s dark cash.  I needed to enter this race to relay a message of caution to all parents and voters to know the facts behind public education and the convoluted political system we have today.

As a Doctor of Education and education researcher, I have a strong sense of responsibility to stand up for public education and to fight for what I strongly believe in.  Thanks to the sacrifices made by the teachers during their strike, more Angelenos learned of the factors and individuals aiming to dismantle public education and privatize our schools.  However, our defenses must not come down with the end of this strike.

My campaign stands as resistance to political corruption and the lies that influence elections, campaigns, and votes.  There are strong economic and political corporate forces within our democratic institutions, connected intimately within our school board, the overall administration of the District, and the city council.   I am here to connect the dots that show the alliances between campaigns and corporate ideologues aiming to subjugate the District and its students.

Elected officials and aspiring politicians, including school board members and superintendents, have been bought by money from corporations and billionaires that achieve victory through aggressive networking schemes and marketing plans.  This money comes with promises of support for political ascendancy, with strings attached that require loyalty to the interests of corporate ideologues and real estate developers.

The social, economic and political networks of billionaires and private investors, including charter school profiteers intersect hand in hand with the current political establishment and unions (sadly enough) — namely the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). They have been buying and politically maneuvering their way into our public education system for decades and working in conjunction with charter school industry organizations.

The California Charter School Association (CCSA) decided not to publicly endorse any candidates in this special election due in part to the negative atmosphere surrounding Ref Rodriguez felony conviction and other charter school scandals. Their endorsement would, therefore, place a target on their preferred candidate.  However, rest assured that donations from charter school advocates are pouring into the campaign coffers of various candidates, namely those connected to city hall politics either in Los Angeles or in the Southeast.  Many red flags loom over this election and we must vote carefully and mindfully.For instance, why did William Bloomfield, a billionaire who has made considerable financial contributions towards the charter school movement, to Parent Revolution, and Marshall Tuck’s education campaigns, give thousands of dollars to the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) campaign fund for Heather Repenning? Why would a billionaire give to a union?  The answer lies in who the candidate they are endorsing.

Bloomfield also gave to the charter school affiliated candidate Allison Bajracharya  (who is a candidate with a conflict of interest due to her connections with Great Schools Foundation, which is directly linked to privatizing billionaire money and real estate developers.)

There has been a strong, long-standing relationship between the SEIU, Broad Foundation (Eli Broad), and Parent Revolution (formerly known as Los Angeles Parent Union, LAPU). They are now intimately connected to one of the candidates in this race, Heather Repenning.   The Broad Foundation and the like-minded corporate ideologues, like Reed Hastings of Netflix, want to end the LAUSD and replace it with portfolio type schools, just like in New Orleans. For them, dismantling public education in Los Angeles is one of their main goals. This will most certainly happen if Heather Repenning is elected.

One way Eli Broad and company, accomplish their goals is to buy off elected officials, aspiring politicians and the unions that endorse them.  In 2008, the Broad Foundation’s mission statement stated its goal was in “Transforming K-12 urban public education through better governance, management, labor relations, and competition.” There are many more SEIU labor leaders who have served on Broad Foundation and or affiliated networks and organizations.  In July of 2012, Andy Stern, former President of the SEIU, joined the Board of Directors for the Broad Foundation and continues to serve to this day.

Another connection between Heather Repenning and Eli Broad and his pro-public school privatizing advocates, like former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, lies with her intimate friendship and political relationship with Mayor Garcetti’s wife, Amy Wakeland.  Mrs. Garcetti once worked as a spokesperson for Coalition for Kids, an organization founded to raise money for Mayor Riordan’s school board chosen candidates.  Mrs. Garcetti is a powerful political player who works behind the scenes in various school board campaigns and is well connected politically and socially. Her  political and social circles have  influence on Ms. Repenning’s campaign

In addition, how much longer can we trust Mayor Garcetti with his political choices and appointees especially after he endorsed for charter school advocate Tamar Galatzan who helped bring us John Deasy and the iPad scandal.  Let’s not forget that Joel F. Jacinto, Mayor Garcetti’s political appointee, is under FBI  investigation as we speak.  Yet another corruption link to Heather Repenning, as she sat as Vice President for the Public Works, with Joel F. Jacinto, which oversaw a vast majority of Councilman Huizar’s projects, also under investigation by the FBI.  Ms. Repenning is also known to be “a friend of CD14” as some of his current and former staffers held fundraising events for her.

Heather Repenning’s campaign is not the only campaign that is throwing red flags.  Graciela Ortiz has faced conflict of interest charges in Huntington Park and was once threatened with a recall by her constituents.  Allison Bajracharya works in the charter school industry. Ana Cubas was once Jose Huizar’s Chief of Staff and is linked to charter school advocates. Like her mentor Monica Garcia, she has shown naked political ambitions for years. We need someone in office whose passion is our students and not someone who will do anything to get elected.

This is the reason why Jackie Goldberg is the only true answer for this election. March 05, 2019 vote Jackie Goldberg as our Democracy depends on it.

Dr. Rocio Rivas

 

 

 

Categories Billionaires, Democrats, Los Angeles

Republicans Kick Off “School Choice Week,” But Not a Single Democrat Joins Them!

By dianeravitch
January 22, 2019 //
38

This week is School Choice Week, which ironically was inaugurated in 2011 by President Obama.

School Choice, we now know, has been a bust. It defunds public schools and allows charters and vouchers to cherrypick the students they want.

Not a single Democrat showed up to celebrate National School Choice Week. Thank the striking teachers for that!

Nothing like a strike to concentrate the mind!

This week, Republican lawmakers held a press conference on Capitol Hill to kick off National School Choice Week, an annual event that began in 2011 under President Obama who proclaimed it as a time to “recognize the role public charter schools play in providing America’s daughters and sons with a chance to reach their fullest potential.” This year, Democratic lawmakers took a pass on the celebration. You can thank striking teachers for that.

In the latest teacher strike in Los Angeles, the nation’s second-largest school system, some 30,000 teachers walked off the job saying unchecked growth of charter schools and charters’ lack of transparency and accountability have become an unsustainable drain on the public system’s financials. The teachers have included in their demands a cap on charter school growth, along with other demands, such as increased teacher pay, reduced class sizes, less testing, and more counselors, nurses, librarians, and psychologists.

#RealDemocratsSupportRealPublicSchools!

#RealRepublicansSupportTheirCommunityPublicSchools!

#GoodCitizensSupportMainStreetNotWallStreet!

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Democrats, Education Industry, Privatization, Republicans

New Mexico: Democratic Governor and Legislature Plan to Cap Charter School Growth

By dianeravitch
January 21, 2019 //
6

Under Republican Governor Martinez, New Mexico was generous to charter schools. The state commissioner for most of her two terms was Hannah Skandera, previously worked for Jeb Bush. Charters got more funding than public schools.

Since the election of Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham, the glory days ofprivatization are numbered.

The Democrats who control the legislature plan to cap charter growth and eliminate the funding that favors charters.

This is good news for the underfunded Public Schools, where the rate of poverty is nearly the lowest in the nation, close behind Mississippi.

Real Democrats support real public schools. Real Democrats don’t support privatization or any part of the DeVos agenda.

Categories Charter Schools, Democrats, Education Industry, New Mexico, Privatization

Rachel M. Cohen: The Teachers in L.A. Are Striking Against Privatization, Where are the Charter Democrats?

By dianeravitch
January 17, 2019 //
75

Rachel M. Cohen, writing in The Intercept, understands what’s new about the L.A. strike. The teachers are fighting for their students and smaller class sizes, but they are loudly and clearly doing somthing else: They are fighting against charter schools. They are fighting against the pro-charter policies of Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Arne Duncan. They are fighting against the pro-charter policies of Jerry Brown, Andrew Cuomo, Corey Booker, and rising Congressional star Hakeem Jeffries.

Cohen writes:

“The centrality of opposition to charter school growth in the LA protests has put many Democrats in an uncomfortable position. The Democratic Party has long straddled an awkward political balancing act between the charter school and labor movements, which both fund Democratic candidates but war with each other. Today, with people across the country focused on the LA teachers, most Democratic lawmakers have stayed silent, and even those who have weighed in have mostly avoided commenting on the union’s opposition to charter school growth….

“The Intercept reached out to all 47 members of the Senate Democratic caucus to ask if they wanted to weigh in on the LA teachers strike and the demands that teachers are striking over. All Democratic senators were also asked to clarify their general views on charter school growth.

“Only seven of them responded.

“A spokesperson for Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., referred The Intercept to a tweet Harris posted on Monday in support of the striking teachers, and said the senator is “particularly concerned with expansions of for-profit charter schools and believes all charter schools need transparency and accountability.” In September, California legislators passed a ban on for-profit charters in the state….

“Martina McLennan, a spokesperson for Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., responded with a statement that did not directly address the LA strike:…

“Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown’s statement also did not directly address the strike. “I support the rights of all workers to join together and fight for better working conditions,” he said. “But it’s shameful that American teachers have to fight so hard just to get the basic supports they need to serve their students. We need to do better as a country investing in public education and public school teachers.”

“Saloni Sharma, a spokesperson for Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., referred The Intercept to a tweet Warren posted on Monday in support of the striking teachers. She also added that the senator believes rapid charter school expansion can pose a threat to the financial health of traditional public schools, which is why Warren opposed a ballot measure in 2016 that would have allowed up to 12 new charters to open in Massachusetts per year. “While she generally shares the concerns voiced by LA teachers on this and other issues, she can’t really speak to the charters’ specific impact on LA schools — the LA teachers are the best experts on that,” Sharma said. “We should listen to them.”…

“Ryan King, a spokesperson for Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, said his boss “believes that teachers in Nevada, and across the country, should be treated with dignity and paid a living wage for the work they do in educating our kids. The senator believes that Congress must do all it can to support quality public education in America and ensure our nation’s teachers have the resources and support they need to educate students.”

“Only two other people responded. Jonathan Kott, a spokesperson for Joe Manchin of West Virginia, declined to comment, saying “we are not weighing in on a local issue in California” and that the senator’s “record on charter schools is well-documented.” (Manchin, who voted against Betsy DeVos’s nomination for education secretary, specifically cited her support for charters and private school vouchers as reasons.) Keith Chu, a spokesperson for Ron Wyden of Oregon, also declined to comment.

“Sanders did not respond to a query about his position on charter schools, but he, Warren, and Brown remain the only likely 2020 presidential hopefuls in the Senate who’ve had anything to say about the strike at all. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, and Cory Booker of New Jersey did not respond to our questions, nor have they publicly commented. California Sen. Dianne Feinstein has also stayed notably silent on the teachers strike happening in her own state.”

Feinstein’s silence is odd. She was just re-elected,and she is very wealthy. She doesn’t need the billionaire’s money, she will never stand for election again. Maybe Eli Broad is a close friend?

Unlike the elected Democrats, the UTLA has drawn the connection between the billionaires and the attack on public school, unions, and teachers.

California, a blue state, has more charter schools in the nation. Ninety percent of charters are non-union. One of the reasons that rightwingers love charters is that they are non-union.

UTLA is making a point: Real Democrats support public schools, not privately managed charters.

Real Democrats are not allied with the Waltons, the Koch brothers, and Betsy DeVos.

Every Democratic candidate for 2020 should declare now whether they support the UTLA; whether they support public schools or charter schools; whether they support teachers’ right to bargain collectively.

A tweet is not enough. Hop on a plane and get to Los Angeles and stand with the teachers if you are a real Democrat.

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Democrats, Education Industry, Los Angeles, Privatization, Supporting public schools

Rebecca Klein: The Los Angeles Strike Will Affect the Future of the Democratic Party

By dianeravitch
January 15, 2019 //
48

Rebecca Klein, education editor at Huffington Post, predicts that the LA teachers strike will play a large role in the future of the Democratic Party.

Oneof the reasons for the strike is the LAUSD’s pro-charter majority, elected by the cash of billionaireswho want to eliminate public schools and unions. These billionaires, like Eli Broad and Reed Hastings, claim to be Democrats.

In Los Angeles, charter schools drain $600 million every year from public schools.

Real Democrats support public schools and unions, not private management of schools.

Real Democrats do not make alliances with the Waltons, the Koch brothers, and DeVos.

Every Democratic candidate for president in 2020 should join the UTLA picket line and show: Which side are you on?

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Democrats, Los Angeles, Privatization, Unions

Hakeem Jeffries, a DFER Democrat, Joins the Party Leadership

By dianeravitch
December 1, 2018 //
29

Rachel Cohen writes that the elevation of Hakeem Jeffries to chair of the Democratic House Caucus is a huge victory for the pro-charter school group Democrats for Education Reform (DFER), the hedge fund managers who control large campaign contributions. The purpose of DFER, she writes, was “to break the teacher unions’ stranglehold over the Democratic Party.” The state conventions of the Democratic Party in both California and Colorado adopted resolutions demanding that DFER remove the D from its name and stop co-opting their brand as Democrats, when they were in fact a corporate front.

She writes:

While DFER really began to flex its financial muscles in 2008 — when it raised about $2 million to help elect pro-charter candidates — its earlier work focused primarily on New York. There, the group helped elect Hakeem Jeffries to the New York State Assembly in 2006. (He served in the state Legislature from 2007 to 2012.) In 2007, DFER also helped lobby New York legislators to lift the state’s charter school cap, increasing it from 150 schools to 250. In 2010, Jeffries co-sponsored legislation to raise the state’s charter cap even further, to 460 — where it stands today.

Over the years, Jeffries has become one of DFER’s top candidates. In 2012, when Jeffries announced that he would run for Congress, the group rallied behind him, elevating him to its so-called DFER Hot List. No other Democrat received more in direct DFER contributions that cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics…

While in Congress, Jeffries has stayed close to the charter movement. He’s spoken at fundraisers for Success Academy, the prominent New York City charter network, and in 2016 was the keynote speaker for a large pro-charter rally, organized to pressure Mayor Bill de Blasio to expand charters in New York City.

Cohen says that Hakeem Jeffries is a cousin of Shavar Jeffries, the executive director of DFER.

This story in The Intercept describes how Hakeem Jeffries was elected to a leadership party in the Democratic Party in the House of Representatives.

Ryan Grim writes:

THE ELECTION OF Rep. Hakeem Jeffries as House Democratic Caucus chair on Wednesday represented a symbolic and substantive comeback for the wing of the party that had suffered a stunning defeat last June, when Rep. Joe Crowley was beaten by primary challenger Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Jeffries, who represents a Brooklyn district next door to Crowley’s, bested Rep. Barbara Lee of California, who had the support of the insurgent movement that had ousted Crowley.

A protege of Crowley’s, Jeffries is heavily backed by big money and corporate PACs. Less than 2 percent of his fundraising comes from small donors, who contribute less than $200, according to Federal Election Commission records.

The outgoing caucus chair, Crowley played an integral role in Jeffries’s election. It’s extremely unusual for the caucus chair to leave his position having lost in a primary (and it has always been a man). But as is tradition, Crowley chaired Wednesday’s election proceedings, as he remains a member of Congress through the lame duck session. On the night of his primary loss, Crowley played a song at his watch party — “Born to Run” — and dedicated it to the insurgent who’d beaten him, Ocasio-Cortez. On Wednesday, with Ocasio-Cortez in the room, he sang the caucus a number, but this time it was what multiple members said sounded like an Irish funeral song. The mood was somber, as the caucus mourned the departure of a man New York Rep. Brian Higgins later called “the most popular guy on campus.”

Crowley, though, wasn’t going gently into the night. In the run-up to the vote, he told a number of House Democrats that Lee had cut a check to Ocasio-Cortez, painting her as part of the insurgency that incumbents in Congress feel threatened by, according to Democrats who learned of the message Crowley was sharing.

There was a kernel of truth in the charge. Lee’s campaign did indeed cut a $1,000 check to the campaign of Ocasio-Cortez, but did so on July 10, two weeks after she beat Crowley. Since then, Reps. Steny Hoyer, Raúl Grijalva, and Maxine Waters, as well as the PAC for the Congressional Progressive Caucus, have all given money to Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign committee. It’s not an unusual phenomenon — a way to welcome an incoming colleague — but Crowley’s framing of it linked Lee to the growing insurgent movement, despite her decades of experience in Congress. Reached for comment, a spokesperson for Crowley did not respond to The Intercept’s questions about his involvement in the leadership race.

After Wednesday’s election, in which Jeffries prevailed 123-113, The Intercept asked Lee if she had heard what Crowley had told other Democrats. “Those rumors took place and that was very unfair,” Lee said. “We’re moving forward now.”

She added, however, that the insinuation that she had supported Ocasio-Cortez during her primary against Crowley was patently false, because Lee wasn’t even aware of Ocasio-Cortez’s challenge. “I didn’t even know he had a primary,” Lee said of the under-the-radar contest that resulted in Crowley’s startling loss.

While Lee has not encouraged primaries against her colleagues and has worked closely with party leadership in her time in the House, her iconoclastic image, rooted in her lone vote against authorizing the use of military force in the days after 9/11, meant that the caricature resonated, as Crowley no doubt knew it would. Indeed, it’s a charge some Democrats in Congress are ready to believe — and some outside supporters of Lee were hoping was true — as Lee is something of a hero among the incoming class of insurgents, and Ocasio-Cortez floated Lee’s name for speaker in June and later endorsed her bid for caucus chair. Rep. Ro Khanna of California, who is also closely associated with the insurgent wing of the party, was an early and vocal supporter of Lee. “She’s the single profile of courage in the House,” Khanna said Wednesday. “John Lewis is a profile in courage for his life. Barbara Lee is for her vote.”

Higgins, the New York representative who backed Jeffries, suggested that Crowley had a hand in nudging Jeffries into the race against Lee. “Hakeem is going to be around for a long time. Our good friend Joe Crowley was defeated. I think Joe probably mentored him a little bit toward this,” said Higgins.

Asked if that meant Crowley, who is closing out his 10th term in Congress, encouraged Jeffries to run against Lee, Higgins responded in general terms. “To what extent, I don’t know, but I do know that he’s a mentor and I think he helped him develop a strategy to succeed,” said Higgins. “Here’s what I know. Joe Crowley is the most popular guy on campus, with Democrats and Republicans. Joe has had a close relationship with Hakeem.”

Waleed Shahid, a spokesman for Justice Democrats, which backed Ocasio-Cortez, said Crowley’s move was “absolutely despicable” and all the more reason to continue targeting Democrats who undermine a progressive agenda. “This is exactly why we need more primaries — to have a Democratic Party that fights for its voters, not corporate donors,” he said.

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Democrats, Democrats for Education Reform, Education Industry, Privatization

Chalkbeat NY: What Are “Progressive Charter Leaders” to Do Now That Their Republican Allies Are Out of Power?

By dianeravitch
November 30, 2018 //
13

This article in Chalkbeat, sad to say, illustrates the inherent bias of a publication funded by the charter industry’s magnates.

Here are the facts: Charter Schools in New York State derived their political power from their alliance with hedge fund managers, Wall Street, the Republican Party, and Governor Cuomo (who relies on hedge fund managers and Wall Street for campaign contributions). In the midterms, the Republican Party and a group of Democrats who voted with the Republicans in the State Senate, were ousted.

Consequently, the Assembly and the State Senate will be controlled by progressive Democrats who are opposed to charter schools. In other words, the charter sector benefitted financially by their partnership with reactionary Republicans (and a half dozen Democrats who voted as if they were Republicans).

So Chalkbeat gives its readers an article posing the dilemma of “progressive charter leaders,” who don’t want to suffer because of their longstanding success at working with the Republicans who lost.

The article doesn’t explain in what ways these charters are “progressive.” Are they non-union, like most charters? Are they integrated? Do they take the kids with the greatest needs? Or are they just lobbying to keep a modicum of power in Albany?

The article uncritically states that there is a “waiting list” of 80,000. Where did that number come from? Was it audited? By whom? Or was it simply manufactured to claim a need that may or may not exist?

The new class of state senators ran against Democrats and Republicans who were funded by the charter lobby. The new Democratic leader of the State Senate is Andrea Stewart-Cousins. She was the target of a vile, racist attack last year by billionaire Daniel S. Loeb, who at the time was chair of the board of Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy charter chain. He said Senator Stewart-Cousins, who is African-American, had done “more damage to people of color than anyone who has ever donned a hood.”

Charter schools aligned themselves with the Trump-DeVos-Walton-Koch view of school choice. Elections have consequences.

Journalists should strive to avoid advocacy. That’s the realm of the editorial and opinion pages. Not journalists.

Categories Accountability, Billionaires, Charter Schools, Democrats, Education Industry, Education Reform, New York, New York City, Privatization

Betsy DeVos Will Be in the Hot Seat as Five House Committees Prepare to Grill Her

By dianeravitch
November 25, 2018 //
56

We saw at her confirmation hearing two years ago how ill-prepared Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is when questioned persistently about her views and actions. We saw a repeat performance when she was questioned by Lesley Stahl on “60 Minutes.” This is a person who is unaccustomed to being held accountable.

Now, at least five committees in the new Democratic-controlled House of Representatives intend to question her about her many controversial efforts to protect for-profit colleges, not students; to roll back protections for transgender students; to put the burden of proof on rape victims, not their alleged assailants; and many more of her policies intended to weaken civil rights protections and the duty of government to defend the weak and vulnerable, not the ruthless and powerful.

For two years, Democrats watched with fury as Education Secretary Betsy DeVos sought to dismantle nearly every significant Obama administration education policy.

Now, they’re gearing up to fight back. Lots of them.

As many as five Democratic-led House committees next year could take on DeVos over a range of issues such as her rollback of regulations aimed at predatory for-profit colleges, the stalled processing of student loan forgiveness and a rewrite of campus sexual assault policies.

“Betsy DeVos has brought a special mix of incompetence and malevolence to Washington — and that’s rocket fuel for every committee in a new Congress that will finally provide oversight,” said Seth Frotman, who resigned as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s top student loan official earlier in protest of Trump administration policies likely to be examined by Democrats.

Even in a Republican-controlled Congress, DeVos had a strained relationship at times with some committees. Her main priorities, such as expanding school choice, were largely ignored as lawmakers hashed out government funding bills. Now she will have to answer to House Democrats wielding gavels, several of whom have long worked on education issues and have been among her most vocal critics.

She came to her job expecting Congress to allow her to shift $20 Billion from Title I to Vouchers. That never happened. Her only funding victory was an increase in funding for charter schools, which now get $450 million, which they certainly don’t need, since they are the plaything of the billionaires.

Many committees are waiting to interview her, including the House Education Committee, chaired by Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia; the Appropriations subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut; and the Financial Services Committee, chaired by Rep.Maxine Waters of California.

Categories Betsy DeVos, Charter Schools, Civil Rights, Democrats, Education Reform, For-Profit, Fraud, Higher Education, Students

Jake Jacobs: Voters in New York Oust Charter Supporters from State Senate

By dianeravitch
November 23, 2018 //
8

Jake Jacobs describes the dramatic ouster of fake Democrats from the State Senate and a changed landscape in New York.

Until the last election, Governor Andrew Cuomo worked closely with an odd coalition of Tepublicans and fake Democrats in the State Senate to give charter schools whatever they wanted. Cuomo collected millions of dollars from hedge fund managers and Wall Street who love charter schools.

The so-called Independent Democratic Conference caucused with Republicans to assure Republican Control of the State Senate.

The new State Senators are anti-charter and anti-standardized testing.

Perhaps just as significant as the Ocasio-Cortez “earthquake” was the September 13th aftershock, where six other insurgent, grassroots-backed New York candidates won primaries in State Senate races against members of the former Independent Democratic Conference (IDC), a controversial group of eight breakaway lawmakers who shared power, perks—and donors—with senate Republicans for over seven years.

All six “No IDC” challengers handily beat their Republican opponents in the general election November 6, including Alessandra Biaggi, a former legal counsel in the Governor Andrew Cuomo administration who ran on the promise to “stop siphoning money to privately run charter schools” and a call to prevent charters from expanding in New York.

Despite being outspent, Biaggi defeated Jeff Klein, the ringleader of the IDC, who funneled upwards of $700,000 in charter industry PAC money to IDC members. Working with Republicans, Klein repeatedly blocked funding for needy public schools while dramatically increasing per-pupil spending for charters. A thirteen year incumbent, Klein lost 54-46 percent, out-hustled by Biaggi who attended public schools in Pelham before hitting the Ivy league, and at thirty-two years old still owes over $180,000 in student debt.

Defeating another IDC member awash in charter PAC money was progressive Robert Jackson, a longtime New York City Councilman who was an original lead plaintiff in the original 1993 Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit seeking increased funding for impoverished schools.

A fierce critic of school privatization, Jackson is eager to take on “groups such as StudentsFirst who push a non-transparent, corporate agenda that makes money off of children’s backs, strips schools and districts of resources, and undermines public education,” his chief of staff Johanna Garcia tells me in an email. In 2011, Jackson sued the city to stop charter school co-locations, or the takeover of space in public school buildings. He has also been a staunch supporter of the opt-out movement, championing legislation in the New York City Council to reduce standardized testing.

Likely to have a profound impact in Albany, Senator-elect Jackson’s position on standardized testing is resolute: “The sooner and farther away we move from standardized testing, the quicker we can focus on supporting learning environments that are responsive and include teaching critical thinking skills, small class sizes, arts and science programs, recess, and funding for resources, social services and enrichment opportunities.”

In Queens, another progressive Democrat to unseat a pro-charter IDC member is Jessica Ramos, a former aide to Mayor Bill de Blasio with a background as a labor organizer and immigration activist. Also a public school product, Ramos is a mom of two who “cannot wait to opt-out” when her oldest son enters third grade next year. Seeing the stress and waste of the testing regime, she “absolutely” backs legislation to eliminate state testing mandates.

Ramos opposes diverting funding from public schools to charters who she sees pushing out high need students in order to preserve their “brand.” Like Robert Jackson, Ramos supports the NAACP moratorium on new charter schools as well as the longtime fight for equitable public school funding.

Also in Queens, former New York City Comptroller John Liu defeated former IDC state senator Tony Avella, who in 2009, claimed to be adamantly anti-charter. But in 2014, Avella joined the IDC and voted for budgets that increased funding for charter co-locations and school choice. Senator-elect Liu wants to prevent the growth of charters and make them pay rent to the city, while also reducing the emphasis on standardized testing.

Cuomo won’t be able to squash progressive legislation anymore. There’s a new posse in Albany.

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Cuomo, Andrew, Democrats, Education Industry, Education Reform, New York, Privatization, Standardized Testing
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