Why a Case Against a Dark Money Charter School Group Is Great News for Democracy
Via Alternet:
Why a Case Against a Dark Money Charter School Group Is Great News for Democracy
Billionaire charter school backers in Massachusetts wanted their identities kept secret. In one of the most important decisions ever about dark money in politics, a Massachusetts charter school advocacy group has been ordered to make the names of its donors public, and pay the largest campaign finance fine in state history. The case is likely to reverberate across the nation.
This week, the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF) exposed the charter school advocacy group Families for Excellent Schools, not as the education reform group of its own masquerade, but as a dark money front designed to hide millions in contributions from plutocrats. The donors, who sought to keep their identities secret, spent big on a ballot question to dramatically expand charter schools in the state; voters rejected itby a wide margin in November.
OCPF reached a Disposition Agreement with Families for Excellent Schools that required the organization to register as a ballot committee and to admit that it had raised (and spent through the Great Schools Massachusetts ballot committee) over $15 million from donors “without disclosing the contributors, and by providing funds to the GSM Committee in a manner intended to disguise the true source of the contributions.” (Press release here).
“Intended to disguise the true source of the contributions.” Marinate in that phrase for a bit.
What is the motive of super rich people backing charter schools? They already send their kids to private academies. Do they just see a stream of tax money to be plucked?
Never understood how poorer neighborhoods are supposed to be helped with an influx of lower paid, higher turnover teachers and managements motivated by profit.
Public teachers selected by competitive exam. Private teachers by who barely makes the grade for the least money. Ever notice the difference in weightiness between public and private ambulance personnel?
There is a great deal of variation in charter schools.
Some states apply most or all of the same rules that are in place for public schools to charters (Massachusetts). Others basically let the charters cherry-pick like a magnet school.
At least in MA, from the charters that I have looked at (I have a 4 year old who will be going to kindergarten next year, doing due-diligence), it seems like a lot of them are basically a way of filling the gap that exists from the rapid decline in the number of Catholic schools. They often occupy buildings that were formerly Catholic schools, etc.
Some of the best schools in MA are charters, and some of the best schools are public schools. All schools are expected to work to reach the target performance levels and to work for continuous improvement beyond that.
A lot of “poorer” neighborhoods were served by those Catholic schools as alternatives to the public school system. For a bunch of reasons (shrinking endowments, need to sell off assets of the church for liquidity reasons, and increasing tuition, as well as declines in the numbers of strongly religious people) Catholic schools became less of an option, and many closed their doors.
In MA, the charter schools are subject to substantially all of the same requirements as public schools for graduation, serving all comers within their charter district, serving students who are learning English and who have disabilities, even down to requirements to adhere to nutritional standards. The private and religious schools generally have not been subject to most of those requirements.
Charters are one way of dealing with overcrowding, and as long as they are effectively managed and scrutinized like any other school district, I don’t have a particular problem with towns letting them in. I did have a massive problem with and voted against the ballot item in question which basically would have taken any choice out of the hands of communities.
As far as motives for outside agencies and the rich to support expansion, I think a lot of it is tied to curriculum. The buying/selling thereof and also the contents of it.
Thanks for the response JG. There is a lot of variation in quality and reporting. It makes for difficult reporting….charter schools also differ in transparency and who they actually service. There was a time in this area of MA (Middlesex County) a surge in Catholic school enrollment for special needs students about twenty years ago because they had smaller student/teacher ratios…but Catholic schools found themselves unable to handle the extra services needed…these were mild ADD and ADHD students. Those needing speech and language services were better handled, as is true today in the charter movement in MA.
As far as I know MA charters are all non-profit — as well as heavily government regulated. Anything but the case across country I fear — where most of the movement is driven by free market manics with the usual Rebup-like set-and-forget ways.
That is accurate Dennis.
This is particularly bad in Massachusetts which has an excellent school system. Minority students in Massachusetts outperform white students on many US states, and Massachusetts international assessment scores are so high they are usually tabulated separately from the rest of the US. A lot of this is the “cherry sheets” which help equalize educational spending across townships. That, and bad driving. I’m sure this has something to do with it.