Eli Broad Rewards Cream-Skimming Charter
Every now and then, Eli Broad likes to throw some money around: Uncommon Schools is the winner of the 2013 Broad Prize for Public Charter Schools and will receive $250,000 to support college-readiness efforts for their students, The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation announced today. Uncommon Schools is a network of 32 public charter schools across Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York, serving m
Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee: The Reformy Lobbyists' Best Friend!
I'm sure folks will have plenty to say over the next few days about Michelle Rhee's corporate money funnel, StudentsFirst: Joy Resmovits of the Huffington Post just published the group's latest IRS report:
The national lobbying group that aims to spread the education-reform gospel of former Washington, D.C., public schools chancellor Michelle Rhee is hauling in significantly more cash but has so far failed to meet its own fundraising goals, recently filed tax documents obtained by The Huffington Post show.
Hey, she's doing it for the kids...When Rhee launched StudentsFirst in December 2011 in an appearance on "Oprah,"she said her goal was to raise $1 billion in one year. StudentsFirst then adjusted its projection, saying it aimed to raise that hefty sum over five years.The group still appears to be falling short. In the fiscal year starting August 1, 2011 and ending July 31, 2012, StudentsFirst raised $28.5 million, more than tripling its $7.6 million fundraising the previous year. During that period, the group's political 501(c)(4) arm raised $15.6 million and spent $13.4 million. Rhee herself drew a salary of about $300,000. [emphasis mine]
I've been combing through the From 990, and some interesting things have emerged. As Resmovits reports, StudentsFirst is giving a lot of money to the lobbying-industrial complex:
The documents show how the organization has spent its money. StudentsFirst spent about $638,000 on Change.org petitions and paid $302,000 to lobbyist