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How Have Large Donations Affected Education Policy In New York City?

Posted by timothy on from the with-grave-concern-for-all dept.

theodp writes: According to Chalkbeat, the expansion of charter schools, the movement to break New York City's large schools into smaller ones, and the push to teach computer science have something in common: the influence of philanthropy. Though contributions from big donors amount to only a fraction of New York City's education spending, they still have a real impact on public school policy, said Jeffrey Henig, the co-author of The New Education Philanthropy: Politics, Policy and Reform, which details how powerful individuals and organizations increasingly use donations to advance policies they support. Increasingly, Henig adds, some of those donors are paying more attention to advocacy, creating at least the appearance, if not the reality, of grassroots support.

37 comments

  1. "Donations" by fustakrakich · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If there are any conditions, it's not a "donation", it is a bribe, and it shouldn't be tax deductible.

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    1. Re:"Donations" by sumdumass · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Nah. For instance, I will donate to help cloth the poor or disaster assistance but insist none of that donation goes to high dollar salaries of the people running it. That is not a bribe.

    2. Re:"Donations" by sims+2 · · Score: 2

      Well still yet they seem to be obligated to hold up their end of the bargain. http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/he...

      --
      Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
    3. Re:"Donations" by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 1

      Aside from 'donations' that basically go to pure astroturfing for somebody's pet project; I'd imagine that a lot of the influence comes not from direct string-attaching(which would indeed get pretty bribey looking pretty quickly); but from the effective leverage of having the city pick up the bulk of the infrastructure and operational costs that would exist across most possible educational setups; but getting the setup you want by donating the marginal cost(in cash or in kind) of whatever your pet project requires.

      Since the district is on the hook for educating kiddo either way, it is relatively easy to structure the offer of a donation as a 'free' bonus, rather than a request that all the resources allocated to a given school or student body be reallocated to your pet project; but if you end up only paying for the pet project part, with the district picking up everything else, the effect is similar.

    4. Re:"Donations" by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 2

      This is not just about altruistism. There is a huge political aspect to these donations. Public employee unions are the biggest donors to the Democratic Party. The also provide thousands of campaign door knockers and phone dialers. When Obama was nominated, more than 20% of the delegates at the convention were members of either the NEA or the AFT. School reform, charter schools, and an upcoming Supreme Court ruling could weaken these unions, which will have a dramatic effect on American politics. I think this is a good thing, because the public employee unions have a corrupting influence, and push the Democratic Party away from their natural role of helping the dispossessed.

    5. Re:"Donations" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In the episode of the Big Bang Theory where Leonard is repeatedly raped* by an old woman, last scene:

      Leonard: I didn't do it for the money!
      Gablehouser: Keep telling yourself that. It makes it easier.

      (Season 4, episode 15, trivializingly called "The Benefactor Factor")

      *) by modern feminist standards

    6. Re:"Donations" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Please cite where you can do this? And I do mean cite, not make up some shit and claim it's real.

      Yeah, you can try to do this by only donating to charities with low administrative overhead but show me where you can realistically demand the none of your money goes to such costs.

    7. Re:"Donations" by wisnoskij · · Score: 1

      Sure, but if instead you insist that all the cloths that this charity hands out are made by some cooperation that you own shares in (which is a real example unlike yours) then donations in that instance should be in quotations.

      --
      Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
    8. Re:"Donations" by sumdumass · · Score: 2

      You mean like Mercury one or your local church?

      And yes, Mercury One has a separate drive for administration costs and all donations to aid goes directly to the target of said aid. They actually clearly separate the two when asking for funds or donations or volunteers to help.

      Your church, well a lot of them anyways, I do not know about the churches in your area but in mine, a lot of them have free stores that stock necessities like clothing, toiletries, and some dry goods that are freely available to people in need. The majority of them operation the administration side completely from donations within their church services and staff volunteers. If you donate money or goods, they go directly to the store or a wholesaler supplier for stock in the store. Some of the stuff is brand new, some is used, some funds is set aside for special purposes like buying good cloths for someone to go to a job interview or something that requires a little more sharpness then off the shelf hand me downs to something that's a little loose or tight but will work for the costs. You just have to look around and ask them about their structure.

    9. Re:"Donations" by matbury · · Score: 1

      I think this is a good thing, because the public employee unions have a corrupting influence, and push the Democratic Party away from their natural role of helping the dispossessed.

      You forgot to put the surrounding sarcasm tags around this bit ;)

    10. Re:"Donations" by sumdumass · · Score: 1

      I'm not sure that can happen can it? It seems to me like the donation would just be rejected if that were a stipulation. However, I could see the donator purchasing a couple truckloads of cloths made by some corporation he owns stock in and that being the donation instead of money. I don't have a problem with that. do you?

    11. Re:"Donations" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That was real smoooooth, brutha! I like your style!

    12. Re:"Donations" by Jason+Levine · · Score: 1

      Doesn't Microsoft often "donate" money to schools to help them set up computer equipment that will be running Microsoft software? This stipulation probably happens more often than we know thanks to back room dealings.

      --
      My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
    13. Re:"Donations" by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      Nah. For instance, I will donate to help cloth the poor or disaster assistance but insist none of that donation goes to high dollar salaries of the people running it. That is not a bribe.

      The difference is that your wishes will be ignored, while the high value donors' won't be.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    14. Re:"Donations" by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      I've never heard of Mercury One, and I don't support churches in any form.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  2. Math: Learn some by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Though contributions from big donors amount to only a fraction of New York City's education spending,"

    Yeah, well unless contributions from big donors are literally the only source of money for education period, then by definition they only form a fraction. Even if NYC only spent a single dollar every year on education and those "big donors" paid for the rest, then theoretically the donors would still only be contributing a fraction.

  3. Sure, lets "get the money out" of politics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    But that won't hurt who you think it will

    The top six "givers" of money to politics in the US have "donated" something like $750 million dollars.

    All of it to DEMOCRATS.

    So yeah, let's "get the money out of politics".

    1. Re:Sure, lets "get the money out" of politics by crow_t_robot · · Score: 1

      I love how the top republican donor is the Las Vegas Sands, a shining icon of vice, consumption, sloth and corruption. Very telling.

    2. Re:Sure, lets "get the money out" of politics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Sands is no worse than any union when it comes to sloth and corruption. Go fuck yourself.

    3. Re:Sure, lets "get the money out" of politics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A bible-thumping prudence pushing, sin shaming Democrat? Well I'll be... pigs really can fly.

    4. Re:Sure, lets "get the money out" of politics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A bible-thumping prudence pushing, sin shaming Democrat? Well I'll be... pigs really can fly.

      They get desperate when confronted with facts.

      Look at what just played out:

      Dimocrat: Get the money out of politics!
      Fact: The largest donors in the US political process gave almost a billion dollars - all to Democrats.
      Dimocrat: The biggest Republican donor is a Las Vegas casino!

      Aaaaand then the Dumbocrat pats himself on the back for how smart he is.

      And you wonder why Obama is a complete failure? Because his political base is downright fucking stupid. (See above for proof.)

    5. Re:Sure, lets "get the money out" of politics by dywolf · · Score: 1

      The totals do not include contributions to 501(c) organizations, whose political spending has increased markedly in recent cycles.

      So since this is only money given direclty to candidates, and not to the dark money front groups, like the 50 odd different ones run by the the Koch's that they will be distrubuting a billion dollars through. a billion being 10x more than the top 10 of that link contributed in 2014.

      So you provided skewed information, and then made a bullshit point based on it.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    6. Re:Sure, lets "get the money out" of politics by dywolf · · Score: 1

      Fact: The largest donors in the US political process gave almost a billion dollars - all to Democrats.

      you mean 'bullshit'.

      Fact: the largest donors arent even in that list because its only the direct contributions, not the dark money spend helping campaigns that campaigns arent even allowed to know about or coordinate with. you know...where 99% of political money -actually- gets spent.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    7. Re:Sure, lets "get the money out" of politics by crow_t_robot · · Score: 1

      I like how every republican poster on slashdot shamefully posts as AC all the time. Just like the dark money flooding the conservative political sphere...no accountability. It's even funnier that they use so many baby-ish words like "dimocrat" and "dumbocrat." So eloquent. Where can I sign up for your anonymous and poorly written newsletter?

  4. biggest single source of donations by ooloorie · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The biggest single source of political donations has traditionally been the teachers unions. This has resulted in terrible corruption of the political process and lousy educational outcomes for kids, placing the personal interests of teachers ahead of those of children. The fact that in recent years, supporters for charter schools and private donations have managed to reach similar contributions is a glimmer of hope. But even money aside, teachers' unions still have way too much political power, and charter schools are really not a good solution either.

    1. Re:biggest single source of donations by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      Political donations go to politicians, not to the schools. These articles are talking about donations that actually go to schools.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    2. Re:biggest single source of donations by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      The fact that in recent years, supporters for charter schools and private donations have managed to reach similar contributions is a glimmer of hope.

      The education system has failed you.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    3. Re:biggest single source of donations by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ... supporters for charter schools and private donations ...

      So some people like private schools paid by the government and giving money to private schools.

      ... reach similar contributions ...

      So those people are paying nearly 50% of the cost of private-run schools, you claim. That should make it easier for the government to provide per-child services in government-run schools.

      ... placing the personal interests of teachers ahead of those of children.

      Isn't there a district somewhere sacking all the teachers, when a school under-performs? Yes, the job of a union is to protect its members, even the ones doing their job poorly. By definition, a teachers union doesn't decide what is best for the children. Teachers are at the bottom of the chain of command, so all decisions are made by administrators and politicians. How about you start holding the employees responsible, accountable and not blaming the teachers who have to spend 6 hours a day baby-sitting the mess made by other people's decisions?

    4. Re:biggest single source of donations by ooloorie · · Score: 1
      Don't you worry about what the education system has done for me. What people should be worried about is that morons like you are actually working as teachers in the US education system:

      Left-wing extremist. Expertise in critical theory and post-WWII literature. Published in six languages, none of which are Esperanto, unfortunately.

    5. Re:biggest single source of donations by ooloorie · · Score: 1

      Indeed. And the difference is that these donations have political influence through actually going to kids, while union donations simply pay off politicians that funnel money in the direction of teachers and administrators.

  5. Reform Schools? by JimSadler · · Score: 1

    The term has more than one meaning. School systems do need reforming. The obstacle is the parents. The idea that my kid must be promoted is behind the great dumbing down of public schools. Raise the bar for getting a grade and the able students will prosper and the less able students will be labeled for what they are. As it now stands the worst students dictate the depth at which a subject can be taught. The parents make the phone calls and the mayor and other officials insist that the lesser minds do well in classes. The catch is that the lesser minds will do little for society whereas the sharper minds can do a great deal for all of us.

    1. Re:Reform Schools? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      While I agree with what you propose, I'd like to offer my own story, which I think provides a more politically correct, as well as more accurate justification for it. (Though sometimes it is exactly as you describe, but people would rather not admit that)

      I agree that holding the advanced (and even average) students back is a serious problem. However its not just "people of lesser minds". If I suck in some subjects (I do: I was in special ed), then yes, please let the other students leave me behind: doing anything else is stupid. However this isn't because I'm stupid: I skipped 3 grades in math, and one in science: Its important to let people get ahead in some subjects, and fall behind in others. This isn't about lesser and greater minds, its simply about people who are not all exactly the same in all areas.

      That same goes for interests: regardless of my skills in some area, I may or may not want to spend a lot of work on it. We need to let people develop the skills they want: make sure they have the option to excel if they have the desire and skills. Education needs to be viewed as the granting of opportunity, not the production of workers for society.

      Though its not quite that simple, there is also the other little issue of us needing to educate people enough to be effective members of a capitalist democracy. Of course the politicians would oppose it (they want the control, not the people), but we really need to teach statistics, game theory and specifically incentive design to everyone, likely in elementary or middle school. Beyond that let people learn what they want.

      And relevant to this article: my high school experience (Seattle Public Schools) was highly influenced by Gates grants with policies attached. It nearly prevented me from getting into my advanced science class: the grants required "blocks" of freshmen to have sets of classes together for some reason (form social groups?), and this included science (also language arts and history). It was clear that they did not want anyone testing out of the freshman science class, and the fact that I passed the insane test (I was the only one who passed out of the at least 20+ who should have) really made a mess of things. There were times when I had 2 classes scheduled at once, or none because of the stupid block activities no one liked were messing with schedules.

      While I was able to get my advanced science education; all my friends got theirs stolen by donations.

      When In college (University of Washington) it was amusing to see how the Microsoft donations to the computer science and engineering department keep making it harder to find Linux machines in the labs (they were preferred over the Windows ones). Some real good probably came from the money, but it was also clear bribery.

    2. Re:Reform Schools? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We need to let people develop the skills they want: make sure they have the option to excel if they have the desire and skills.

      While that is great for adults, children do not have the capacity to make educated decisions about their future. You let a middle school kid decide to opt out of "hard" math and when they get to college and want to be an engineer they'll find out their 11 year-old self fucked them over. Granting kids the most opportunities possible means cramming shit down their throat to some extent. They have to have a broad base so they are free to choose their direction. Allowing kids to choose their own direction when they are too young to understand the consequences of those decisions doesn't open opportunities for them, it closes them.

    3. Re:Reform Schools? by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      The catch is that the lesser minds will do little for society whereas the sharper minds can do a great deal for all of us.

      Being clever does not in itself make you a good or useful person. Most successful investment bankers and CEOs are extremely bright people.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  6. It's not philanthropy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's all about today's robber barons trying to buy a posthumous reputation - just as Andrew Carnegie did.