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Tuesday, January 5, 2021

St. Louis: Privatizers and Assorted Billionaires Pick Over Bones of Public School System | Diane Ravitch's blog

St. Louis: Privatizers and Assorted Billionaires Pick Over Bones of Public School System | Diane Ravitch's blog
St. Louis: Privatizers and Assorted Billionaires Pick Over Bones of Public School System




Tracee Miller, a member of the St. Louis Board of Education, writes that she was shocked and dismayed to discover that a proposal to raise taxes for early childhood education was actually a disguised effort to divert more public money to charter schools. The truth leaked out:

Emails exposed via public records requests revealed that not only did the proposal lack specificity around fund distribution, but also that the funds could be redirected to economic projects unrelated to ECE. These articles also named local individuals and organizations affiliated with the deceit, illustrating the depth and breadth of political corruption connected with one ballot measure. Only it isn’t just one ballot measure.

The individuals peddling their agenda under the guise of education equity will continue to steer public dollars toward private programs and gain political capital unless we decide that public education is too important to jeopardize for the sake of private gain. We will all be complicit in the perpetuation of inequity if we choose to let this continue when we know the reality. I feel compelled to ensure, to the extent that I am capable, that CONTINUE READING: St. Louis: Privatizers and Assorted Billionaires Pick Over Bones of Public School System | Diane Ravitch's blog