Republicans' clever trick: blame public schools for the blight of poor communities
Republicans and their conservative Democratic allies trashed the economy and bankrupted federal and state governments via reckless deregulation, tax cuts for the rich, outsourcing, union bashing, corruption, privatization, and fraudulent, mismanaged wars. Now they’re in the process of destroying the social safety net and public education.
Charter schools are conservatives’ most powerful weapon for destroying public education, because conservatives get to march under the banner of “education reform”; they get to feign concern for poor people; and they get to blame public schools and teachers for the economic and social blight that burdens poor communities. Conservatives love to complain about the quality of public schools — all the while refusing to adequately fund them.
In 2012, after losses in 1996, 2000, and 2004, charter school proponents finally eked out a win in at the ballot box, with substantial funding from wealthy benefactors. Charter school supporters outspent charter school opponents by a 10 to 1 ratio. According to Bill Gates, other billionaires funding charter effort in Washington state, Bill Gates, Jr. donated $2 million and Alice Walton of Walmarts donated $1.7 million to the charter schools campaign.
See also:
Exposed: The Billionaire-Backed Group Strong-Arming Parents into Destroying Their Kids
Public Schools, Billionaire Agendas: The Threat of the ‘Parent Revolution’ Campaign: The “parent-trigger†movement is being heavily financed by the conservative Walton Family Foundation, one of the nation’s largest anti-union organizations.
Don’t Be Fooled: For Investors, Charter Schools Are Cash Cows In Pennsylvania and across the nation, investors are making big bucks off of charter schools, and donating huge sums to the politicians who protect their interests.
The State Constitution and other reasons to oppose charter schools