DOES WALTON GIFT SUBSTIUTE FOR FISCAL REFORM?
THEMES IN THE NEWS FOR THE WEEK OF AUG. 22-26, 2011 BY UCLA IDEA | HTTP://BIT.LY/ORW5FD
08-26-2011 - This week, the Walton Family Foundation gave the California Charter Schools Association (CCSA) a $15-million grant to help increase the number of charter students by 100,000—20,000 in Los Angeles—within three years. The gift is the largest ever received by the association and the largest single amount that the Walton Foundation has given to support charters in California (Los Angeles Times, San Jose Mercury News, KPCC, Forbes, Educated Guess).
The association has flexibility in how it can spend the money. CCSA advocates for new startups and supports existing charters. At a time when charters are exempted from some public oversight and many regulations, CCSA has advocated holding under-performing charters accountable.
Fifteen million dollars is a sizeable amount of money—especially if it improves conditions for learning and teaching. However,