The Politics of Retribution

“A plan for ensuring best and fair practices for charter operators, including results that indicate positive impacts on the achievement gap, inclusion of all students, fair labor practices, and parent engagement practices.”

-Steve Zimmer, 11/13/12

Betsy Devos, Eli Broad, and Michael Bloomberg have spent millions of dollars pushing to privatize our public schools with disastrous effects for school districts like the LAUSD. Much of this spending is not used to benefit students in any way, but to influence elections. This spending has swelled to the point where once again Los Angeles has broken the record for “the priciest school board race in U.S. history.”

Fueling much of this spending is a desire to eliminate the threat of any Board member who dares to seek accountability for these privately run institutions. Two years ago the target was Bennett Kayser who had a reputation for being a tough critic of the charters. In a campaign that included unproven allegations of racism and mocked his diagnosis with Parkinson’s, they unseated the only LAUSD Board Member who was a guaranteed vote against unregulated charter expansion.