New Florida charter school group seeks to buy votes

From the Orlando Sentinel

by Dave Weber

A new high-powered lobbying group has been formed to push expansion of charter schools in Florida, and it expects to have an inside track with lawmakers and other state officials.

The Florida Charter School Alliance has announced its official launch with a $900,000 grant from the Walton Family Foundation – the Walmart folks. While the alliance says it will help new charters open, it makes no bones that a large part of its effort will be to sway public policy to its side.

“The alliance will work hand in hand with key leaders in Tallhassee to educate them about how charter schools serve as the most promising path to a high quality education for communities in need,” said Cheri Shannon, director of the group.

Not that lawmakers will need much “educating.” The Republican dominated Legislature along with other state officials including some Democrats are securely on board with charters, although researchers differ greatly on the experimental taxpayer-financed schools’ worth or success.

And a quick read of the list of Alliance honchos indicates that the group already has the ears of state leaders.

The Alliance board of directors includes Jim Horne, former state commissioner of education and former legislator; Patricia Levesque, who heads former Gov. Jeb Bush’s Foundation for Excellence in Education and is a go-to fixture for the Legislature on anything education; Tom Majdanics, director of Kipp Jacksonville schools (which fell flat on its face this past school year when the much ballyhooed national group’s first JAX school earned an “F” in state grading); and John Kirtley, an influential Tampa Bay area businessman who heads Step Up for Students, the group that collects corporate donations (given in lieu of state taxes) and uses them to send kids to private, mostly religious schools.

Kirtley also is vice chairman of the controversial American Federation for Children, whose political action committee has been giving cash to pro school choice candidates across the nation. Kirtley as well is chairman of the related Florida Federation for Children, which boasts online that its Florida efforts last year included contributions of nearly $920,000 to sway 45 Florida election races.

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_education_edblog/