Wall Street ♥ charter schools
By Laurie Bennett
May 5, 2013 at 9:37am
Call them cynical, but the widespread involvement of financial firms in the charter school movement raises suspicion among many public school advocates.
The map below illustrates just a few entanglements of big league investors in national school-choice organizations.
Many hedge funders and financiers contribute to state-level groups or to individual schools. Billionaire Carl Icahn founded the Bronx charter school named for him. Spencer Robertson, son of billionaire Julian Robertson, started PAVE Academy in Red Hook, NY.
Hedge funder John Arnold, founder of Centaurus Advisors, is one of the most generous advocates for school choice.
His foundation has given millions of dollars to charter school networks such as KIPP and YES Prep.
New Markets Tax Credit
One of the perks of investment in charter schools came with passage in 2000 of the New Markets Tax Credit, a federal tax break for investors in community development projects.
Big banks have seen the allure. The map below shows banks and other organizations that have put