Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/15938
> Beware of corporations bearing gifts The story also took a critical look at the role corporate foundations play in training administrators from the private sector to govern schools in a top-down, authoritarian style. Six years later, many of those concerns have be en ju sti fied: C orporate grants for charter schools have hurt public schools; the breakup of large schools into small schools has not been cost-effective; and f ounda- tion-trained administr ators ar e causing problems. The question “Is it philanthropy or corporate meddling?” is still ex- tremely relevant today, as many of the issues faced by public schools — dwindling funds, lack of academ- ic freedom, and widespread charter proliferation — have been greatly influenced by foundations. And the influence they wield is growing, de- spite a poor track record of previ- ous reforms. Of c ourse, it should be not ed that not all foundation grants come with insidious str ings a ttached. CTA and NEA have foundations that do great, innovative work for our schools. And many other founda- tions also exist that have been ex- ceptionally generous in providing money to schools in this country. But quite often corporate founda- tions are financing the fad of the moment, adv ancing a political agenda or a ttaching substan tial strings to their generosity. For the purposes of this feature, we’ ve chosen t o f ocus on the Broad, Bill and Melinda Gates, and Walton F amily f oundations — groups that are having increasing influence on education policy. The following stories revisit some of the schools we reported on in 2004 and explore the mounting impact of corporate foundations on public education. 10 California Educator | SEPTEMBER 2010 As government continues to take funding away from public education, schools increasingly put themselves in the hands of private foundations. It begs the question: Is society abdi- cating control of public education and embarking on a dangerous path? Corporate foundations have been fight- ing for control of public schools for years in Oakland, Sacramento, Los Angeles and San Diego (see accompanying stories). Bil- lionaires like Bill Gates, the Walton family and Eli Broad have quietly risen to power at both the state and federal levels, al- though their huge effect on education mandates and legislation is not yet on the radar screen of most people. “The influence of these corporate foun- dations on schools is at the root of many of the problems we’re confronting today in public education,” observes CTA President David A. Sanchez. “Race to the Top is a prime example, as they try to bribe states to accept onetime dollars in exchange for sweeping policy changes. Strings are at- tached to federal funding in a way we’ve never seen before — and at a time when our schools need more help than ever.” The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation spent millions of dollars this year to influ- ence the way the federal government dis- tributed $5 billion in grants to “reform” public schools in Race to the Top (RTTT). The foundation offered $250,000 to help states hire consultants to apply for RTTT money — but only if they embraced the same goals as the Gates Foundation: paying teachers based on student test scores; open- ing up charters that operate independently of local school boards; and agreeing to a common set of standards in every state. In Round 1 of RTTT, 37 states applied. Gates offered assistance to 15 handpicked states; 10 of them, including Tennessee, were among the 16 finalists in Round 1. One Washington Post columnist compared their 30-minute presentations and Q&A sessions to the voting on the popular TV show Project Runway. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan found only two states — Tennessee and Delaware, states that worked with teach- ers on the application — deserving of money. The rest went home empty-handed. Who’s pulling the strings? The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation has provided nearly $400 million to school districts to open charter schools, implement unreasonable accountability measures, train superintendents in top-down management styles, and pay for the salaries of Broad associates working in school districts. Billionaire Eli Broad has also backed anti-union candidates in school board and state election races. He is the 42nd-richest person in the world, according to Forbes, and is a retired homebuilder and life insurance magnate. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has given over $1 billion to education and is chaired by Bill Gates of Microsoft and his wife, Melinda. Gates’ tactics as founder of Microsoft have been called anti-competitive, but he has encouraged competitive tactics among schools in promoting Race to the Top applications and legislation. After his grants funding small schools proved ineffective, Gates set his sights on funding charters, implementing performance-based teacher pay programs, and fi ring “bad” teachers. Bill Gates was the world’s wealthiest man from 1995 to 2009, excluding 2008 when he ranked third. The Walton Family Foundation is focused on “reforming” the country’s public education system by pumping money into school vouchers and charter schools. Since the late 1990s, the Waltons have been at the forefront of the charter school movement. Over the years, they have given hundreds of millions of dollars to various charter schools and ally organizations around the country. The Waltons are the founders of the ubiquitous Wal-Mart stores.