Big money to BESE elections: $3.5 million to PACs and counting
Eli Broad, right, arrives with his wife Edythe at the September opening of their museum in Los Angeles. Broad also takes a major interest in public education, and Louisiana's campaign coffers show it: he's given $250,000 to Baton Rouge businessman Lane Grigsby's political action committee, part of more than $3 million that has come to Louisiana's pro-charter groups so far for the Oct. 24 Board of Elementary and Secondary Education election. (Chris Pizzello, Invision/AP)
Major education activist groups are again spending big on Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Educationraces. More than $3.5 million has already come in to political action committees that support theCommon Core standards and innovations such as charter schools and publicly funded vouchers.
It's an astounding amount of money for a relatively obscure board. And the sum has already exceeded the 2011 BESE race -- itself unprecedentedly expensive -- even though it doesn't count contributions made directly to candidates, nor most October spending.
All 11 BESE seats are up for grabs: eight are on the Oct. 24 ballot and the rest are appointees who will depend on the results of the governor's race.
The battle is between groups that take a free-market approach, favoring the use of test score ratings and competition among schools to keep students; and those, including teachers unions, who believe the changes have harmed public schools. All eight races have drawn candidates on both sides of the debate.
The national advocates are trying to avert a turnover of power on BESE that would reverse their wins of the last four years and put Louisiana Education Superintendent Big money to BESE elections: $3.5 million to PACs and counting | NOLA.com:
