Governor Brown Re-Schools California School Board
Rewarding his supporters? (Photo: Reuters)
Proponents of charter schools and broad eduction reform may be in for a bumpy ride in the nation's largest state: California's new Democratic governor, Jerry Brown, gave several backers of charter schools the heave-ho from the state's Board of Education.
And in their place?
Brown appointed people who the L.A.Times says are aligned with "traditional" players in the education game. Critics see the hand of California's powerful teachers unions in the move. The unions, you see, were big supporters of Brown's campaign to retake the Governor's office in Sacramento.
One former Board member given the boot, Los Angeles Democrat Ben Austin, who founded theParent Revolution education reform group, pulled no punches when speaking to the Times:
"I got yanked and replaced on his first full day in office by literally the lobbyist for his biggest campaign contributor [teachers unions]," he said. "At the end of the day, what