Editor’s note: While the bulk of media attention has been devoted to tomorrow’s race for governor, there are other races to be decided. Not the least of these are the races for eight seats on the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. As in the past, a lot of out-of-state-money is being poured into the campaigns of certain board members. Baton Rouge resident Mark Joyce gives us his take on the BESE elections.
Guest Column by Mark A. Joyce
(Special to LouisianaVoice)
In the last month, I have been bombarded by political ads everywhere – radio, television, mailbox, phone. There is plenty of trash talk but not much substance. It would be funny if it not for the fact that this concerns our children’s education – 720,000 students statewide in Louisiana.
There is a tremendous amount of money being spent by outside interests on the BESE election. The question is who and why.
On October 8 it was reported in the Arkansas Times:
As of September 14, 2015, money from two billionaires from Arkansas and one billionaire from California constitutes the principal funding for Lane Grigsby’s efforts to preserve a BESE majority known for supporting charters and vouchers without equally supporting adequate oversight; supporting high-stakes testing without supporting timely, clear, comprehensive reporting of testing results, and for allying with a state superintendent known for hiding and manipulating data, refusing to honor public records requests, and refusing to consistently audit the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE).
On Oct 15, The Baton Rouge Advocate confirmed that this local political-wanna-be had formed a PAC—Empower Louisiana – and was reportedly “spending about $818,000 and has $1.2 million in the bank” and acknowledged that it was funded almost entirely by out-of-state operatives:
- Alice and Jim Walton, both of Bentonville, Arkansas contributed $400,000
- Eli Broad, of Los Angeles, donated another $250,000
- Louisiana Association of Business and Industry donated $40,000
Out-of-state funded PACs are mostly limited to television, radio advertisements and direct mail and that explains all the trash talk on the media.
In the same article, the Advocate mentions the four candidates that are “acceptable” to the PAC: James Garvey, Holly Boffy, Sandy Holloway and Tony Davis. Let’s look at their reported campaign contributions (spent and on-hand) as reported in The Advocate:
- Garvey – $230,459
- Boffy – $107,145
- Holloway – $87,606
- Davis – $37,581
Almost a $500,000 is being spent for these four candidates to be elected to a school board! Remember, these are unpaid positions.
Let’s look at the locally supported candidates:
- Lee Barrios – $7,141
- Mike Kreamer – $15,317
- Lottie Beebe – $14,209
- Mary Johnson Harris – $8,810
- Glynis Johnston – $3,246
That’s not quite $50,000 in funding for the locally supported candidates. That’s a huge difference! The out-of-state money is outspending you and me to the tune of a 10 to 1 advantage. No wonder we are being bombarded!
So, why is an out-of-state funded, political action committee spending over $1 million to buy a school board election in Louisiana and bragging about it in the press. Why do private interests want to control seats on a local school board?
As Tom Aswell would say, “follow the money.” Remember in 2010 when LDOE was sending student data to the politically active Hoover-Institute-run Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO). Our own New Orleans based, Research on Reforms (ROR) filed a lawsuit to discover just what data LDOE had released to CREDO. We learned that detailed, personally identifiable school information was being provided to CREDO by LDOE. This impacted not only public school children since It turns out that LDOE was also sending quite a bit of detailed data on non-public students, their DOB’s, their teachers, their special education conditions, schools, etc.
Who funds CREDO? The funders are acknowledged on the Hoover Institution’s website:
In partnership with the Walton Family Foundation and Pearson Learning Systems, Raymond is leading a national study of the effectiveness of public charter schools. (Emphasis mine)
The people behind the PAC are the same people (and money) that wanted our kid’s school data. We fought them successfully then. They got their wrists slapped for attempting to gain access to this data for their personal benefit. We told then “NO” once; that should be enough. They could not get our children’s data though LDOE, so instead this time around they are buying candidates and attempting to buy our school board. I do not want these same people on our state school board nor do I want people who are beholden to them.
Even before the CREDO scandal, the Walton’s have tried to press their influence on Louisiana. Greg Penner, married to one of the Walton daughters, is on the National Board of Directors for Teach for America (TFA), and is a director of the Charter Growth Fund, a “non-profit venture capital fund” investing in charter schools. Turns out that Penner, who live in California, donated $10,000 to Kira Orange Jones another BESE member. She is said to have “[run] as the embodiment of post-Katrina reform efforts in New Orleans” reform efforts that have been focused on charter schools and school privatization. TFA still has a piece on its website how they do not endorse or support candidates (specifically naming Kira Jones) but the money trail between TFA and Jones has been well documented.
Who funds TFA? As reported in the Los Angeles Times, on July 31, 2013:
Walton is TFA’s largest donor, but the group has a diverse funding base. The Walton donation will cover about 20% of TFA’s expenses this year in the L.A. region.
To me it could not be more clear – our children’s future is more important that political partisanship. Everyone agrees – we need local control without undue influence from out-of-state political operatives. These people have agendas that are NOT in the best interests of our children. They can go back to California and Arkansas.
What does make sense?
I speak from the perspective of a Louisianan and a proud single father whose son received an excellent public education. I can support two candidates because they are local, have local support, and they have established records of working for us: Jason France and Carolyn Hill. Dedicated to our kids and not outside interests. Jason is the only candidate in District 6 with kids in the public school system. There are no PACs supporting these two, no corporations, no out-of-state billionaires, no unions, no businesses, no real-estate firms or technology vendors – no one but folks like you and me.
It’s time we all reached across the pew and the aisle and joined together to fight for our kid’s interest. The only way to beat big money and outside influences is through grass root operations. People talking with their neighbors – neighborhood by neighborhood. Let’s win our schools back.
You have to vote on Saturday. Your kids are counting on you.
Thank you for an excellent article that sheds a good deal of light on the shenanigans behind the BESE elections. In fact Empower Louisiana is running commercials for two candidates in district six. There is another candidate in district six with a great deal of experience working with and for children and her views virtually mirror your choice of candidate. My wife, who is a long time educator, and I chose to vote for Kathy Edmondston. She also opposes Common Core and is not beholden to any political PACs. Regardless of choice I hope that everyone does their homework on these and other races and votes tomorrow.
Sorry, I misspelled Kathy’s last name. It is Edmonston.
Jason France is another capable candidate in District 6 who would not be beholden to the out-of-state money that’s trying to buy the election.
Bob – Thanks for the info on Kathy. Congrats to her for making the runoff. I just contributed.
Happy to have this information before the election. These races don’t get much coverage. I feel better able to make my choices now. Thank you for that.
Thank you for this vital information. BESE races seldom rise to a high level of concern and few people study the sub rosa goings-on as you have. (Although last election cycle, jindal support of candidates drew a measure of ire and disgust.) The facts you have uncovered – huge out-of-state donations for unpaid state education board positions (although BESE members are paid a per-diem for expenses incurred when they meet) are deeply disturbing.
DEEPLY DISTURBING.
This is one of the many reasons my family and I are supporting Glynis Johnston here in District 4 (northwest LA).
Thank you for you kind comments. I welcome all suggestions. Please talk to your neighbors, friends, coworkers … This is a fight we can’t lose. Our kids really are counting on us.
I wondered about Sandy Holloway’s expensive mailings, plus she is executive director of Bayou Community Academy Charter School in Thibodaux. I voted for Lottie Beebe, and I’m glad to know I voted for the person who is not enthralled to an out-of-state charter school PAC and does not have a self-interest in a charter school.
Thank you Mr. Joyce for getting the word out on this. This is the same thing that happened 4 years ago – the Jindal-clone candidates were funded by lots of out-of-state groups and people like Michael Bloomberg. And, guess what? Those people were voted in – paid for by people who don’t have the best interest of La. education at heart. They wanted to make sure they were elected so they could vote John White into the Supt. of Education position while the former Board previously did not have the super-majority to do it before the election.
Also, don’t forget that the Gov. will be appointing 3 members to BESE, and those 3 appointees will likely be the swing votes on key issues. They will vote however the Gov.’s people tell them to vote. So, who you vote into the Gov. position will also affect education in La. It’s even more important to make a good decision there.
I know most people don’t pay attention to these elections, but it is crucial this year. Some things to consider:
1) John White wants to keep his job, but who we elect to these positions can determine the outcome of that decision.
2) Do we want 20-somethings with 2 years of classroom experience and 5-weeks of training creating the education policies of this state?
3) Do we want people who are beholden to testing corporations and education-meddlers deciding what tests our students will take and the curriculum taught?
4) Do we want qualified and experienced educators and those who have or had children in public schools making decisions about public education?
Remember the teachers lined up at the Capitol in 2012 wanting to testify at the education hearings only to find doors closed to them and the hearing room packed (with legislative assistants) with LABI, Stand for Children, and pro-reform groups?? That image is seared into my brain, and I’ll be darned if I will let the teachers of this state down by voting for anyone funded by LABI, Lane Grigsby, or these outside groups.
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Thanks so much for sharing more info on the BESE races which are virtually ignored by mainstream media. Hope most of the public can see through the continuous expensive TV/radio ads for James Garvey, Kira Orange Jones, Sandy Holloway & Davis paid for by the Waltons, the Broads & the rest of the billionaires trying to privatize education for their own benefit.
I need money plz help me