THE MICHIGAN FAMILY BUYING INDIANA EDUCATION
By Doug Martin, the author of Hoosier School Heist (find iton Facebook)
(cross-posted at Schools Matter)
If you haven’t read my book Hoosier School Heist, chances are you don’t know Betsy DeVos. Without a doubt, Betsy DeVos and her family members are some of the biggest players behind school privatization in Indiana (and several other states).
Betsy DeVos is the wife of Richard (Dick) DeVos, Jr., the Christian Right leader of Amway and Right-to-Work supporter who ran for governor of Michigan in 2006 and almost won. As I explain in my book, Richard, in a video a few years back, detailed the family plan for Indiana public education and school privatization across the country.
Betsy DeVos’ brother Erik Prince founded the Christian military force Blackwater, known for its massacre, threats to a U.S. investigator, and big government payouts in the War on Terror.
Along with Walmart’s Walton family, Betsy DeVos heads the American Federation for Children, a front-group which funneled money into the Hoosiers for Economic Growth PAC which in turn handed tons of campaign donations to Indiana Republicans (and lawmakers in several other states) to pass anti-public education bills to benefit for-profit charter operators and rightwing free-market-promoting Christian schools.
Besides giving Tony Bennet $10,000 directly, the DeVos family has handed $940,000 to the American Federation for Children.
Mike Pence has received just $20,000 in campaign donations The Michigan Family Buying Indiana Education | Hoosier School Heist Blog: