Charter groups top unions in lobbying, campaign spending
ALBANY—Supporters and opponents of education reform, primarily charter school expansion, spent more than $30 million combined attempting to influence New York State politics in 2014, a Capital analysis of lobbyist reports and campaign finance data found.
Charter school groups and their supporters spent $16 million on lobbying, campaign contributions to state-level candidates and parties and independent expenditure campaigns last year. Charter schools spent nearly $700,000 on lobbying. Education unions and labor-funded advocates spent $11.77 million, according to the analysis.
Additionally, large school districts and stakeholder groups representing school boards spent $922,193. An advocacy group pushing a generous tax credit that would incentivize donations to schools spent $659,404.
In defending their spending and high-profile backers, education reform leaders have often portrayed teachers’ unions as deep-pocketed behemoths representing special interests. But the spending reality is that in 2014, the pro-charter and reform groups outspent unions by a considerable margin.
In the first three months of 2014, New York City’s charter advocates, with the help of Governor Andrew Cuomo, battled Mayor Bill de Blasio over the future of the city’s growing charter sector. Charter leaders felt their existence threatened under the de Blasio administration, which has had frosty relations with the city’s charter contingent.
But after the continued growth of the charter sector around the state was guaranteed in a sweeping pro-charter bill passed last April, the existential threat to charters became less urgent. In the remaining nine months of 2014, pro-charter groups focused more on strengthening accountability measures for teachers and pushing the state and city to take immediate action to fix failing schools.
Each side was led by a group that accounted for more than half of its cause’s spending. While final lobbying totals for 2014 are not yet available, it is likely Families for Excellent Schools, which spent $9.7 million, and the New York State United Teachers, which spent Charter groups top unions in lobbying, campaign spending | Capital New York: