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