Right-Wing Campaign to Privatize Public Ed Takes Hold in Pennsylvania

[marmar]

AlterNet / By Daniel Denvir

Right-Wing Campaign to Privatize Public Ed Takes Hold in Pennsylvania
In Pennsylvania, voucher proponents have spent more than $1 million on election season so far. Will the state set a national precedent in privatizing public schools?

April 23, 2012 |


A nationwide movement to promote school vouchers, funded by a coterie of wealthy corporate and Wall Street donors, has once again made Pennsylvania a battleground state in the fight over privatizing education. Voter turnout in the April 24 primary is expected to be low, and national media attention has moved on now that Rick Santorum has dropped his presidential bid. But voucher proponents have so far spent more than $1 million on an election season generally defined by low-budget state legislative races.

"I see a move by essentially a handful of very wealthy people who want to privatize public education for a wide variety of reasons," Lawrence Feinberg, co-chairman of the anti-voucher Keystone State Education Coalition, told the Philadelphia City Paper. "Not the least of which has to do with crushing labor unions, but they also want tax dollars going to private and religious schools."

As I first reported in the Philadelphia City Paper, the pro-voucher state political action committee (PAC) Students First — funded by Pennsylvania hedge-fund managers and American Federation for Children, a national pro-voucher group headed by Amway heiress and major right-wing donor Betsy DeVos — has unleashed ad campaigns targeting opponents of school vouchers, which allocate taxpayer funds to private and religious school tuition.

West Philadelphia's 188th House District is the epicenter of the Pennsylvania fight, where homes have been sent glossy mailers attacking state Rep. James Roebuck, the ranking Democrat on the House Education Committee and a leading opponent of vouchers. ....................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/story/155076/right-wing_campaign_to_privatize_public_ed_takes_hold_in_pennsylvania/

[xchrom]

1. Du rec. Nt

[Bill USA]

2. New National Anthem (dirge): We are Marching to Plutocracy (to the tune of Marching to Praetoria)

Better education for the well off and well connected. Hurray!


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