Arizona: The State Where Conflicts of Interest Are Celebrated in the Charter Industry
A friend in Arizona sent me the official bio of a member of the State Board of Regents, which is appointed by the Governor.
Jay Heiler was appointed in 2012. He has a distinguished resume…but. In addition to serving on the state Board of Education, he is also the Founder and President of the Board for Great Hearts Academies, a national charter chain based in Phoenix.
Regent Heiler graduated with honors in journalism from Arizona State University in 1983, where he was a Pulliam Scholar and served as editor-in-chief of the 45,000-reader campus daily, The State Press. He took his law degree at ASU as well, where he was named the Truman Young Fellow and began a prosecutorial career while still in law school, preparing and trying cases at the city, county, state and federal levels. He has served on the boards of both the Goldwater Institute and the Morrison Institute, Arizona’s two leading public policy think tanks, and hosted his own public affairs television program, Straight Answers. A dedicated advocate for education quality and reform, he is founder and President of the Board for Phoenix-based charter school management organization Great Hearts Academies. He is also president of the board for the Arizona Charter Schools Association. His past community service includes a number of charitable boards and board presidency of Esperanza, a third-world medical care and public health organization headquartered in Continue reading: Arizona: The State Where Conflicts of Interest Are Celebrated in the Charter Industry | Diane Ravitch's blog
