Political Horizons for Sunday 020212
Gov. Bobby Jindal says this state needs solutions unique to Louisiana to successfully revamp the way public schools teach 700,000 or so students.
“Equal opportunity in education is a core underlying value we all share.” Jindal said in his inaugural speech. He told the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry: “We have a system that decides what’s best for them, rather than empowering them to make a choice.”
Far from being Louisiana-specific, the rhetoric Jindal uses is similar to what is being said by governors in Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Florida and Pennsylvania during the past two months, according to newspapers in those states. Proponents use the same phrases — “school choice” and “core values” — to support giving taxpayer dollars to private businesses involved with educating children in public schools. Their ideas are opposed by the “coalition of status quo.”
Public school privatization has long been a Republican dream, Diane Ravitch, a former assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Education, said in an email interview last week. But such revamps likely will be pursued in “every state with a GOP governor and legislature,” she wrote.
Funding for such efforts seem to come from a handful of special interests pushing a privatized education agenda, Ravitch wrote, who now is a professor at New York University.
For instance, during the latest election cycle, the Louisiana Federation for Children PAC donated $96,500 — usually at maximum amounts — to candidates for the Louisiana Legislature and the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
The Louisiana PAC’s website says it is a “project” of the American Federation for Children, based in Washington, D.C., which promotes expansion of school vouchers. Jindal proposes expanding a pilot “scholarship” project — giving taxpayer dollars to some parents for paying private school tuitions — to include more than half of the public schools students in the state.
The American Federation is chaired by Betsy DeVos, whose father founded the Prince Corp., an automobile parts supplier in Michigan. Her husband, Dick DeVos, is the son of one of the founders of Amway Corp.
According to Washington-based Center for American Progress Action Fund, a self-described liberal think-tank, the DeVos family is funding efforts to pass voucher legislation in Indiana and Wisconsin, two other states with GOP governors conservative media say are potential presidents. The DeVos family has donated about $16,000 to Jindal’s political campaigns, according to disclosures with the Louisiana Board of Ethics.
The Louisiana PAC’s website touts “core” Louisiana values, such as school choice. Eddie Rispone, a Baton Rouge contractor, is chairman but the Louisiana Federation’s headquarters are in suburban Washington. Its treasurer, Lisa Lisker, was a partner in a political accounting firm that worked for Republican candidates and groups, according to disclosures.
The Louisiana PAC reports that the bulk of its contributions came from its national parent, the heirs of Wal-Mart, and private “education” companies.
Some of the Louisiana PAC’s money, not much, came from Louisiana sources. Records show about $30,000 came from companies linked to Donald “Boysie” Bollinger, of Lockport, and Lane Grigsby, of Baton Rouge. Both are consistent funders of Republican candidates.
The Louisiana PAC is headquartered in the same Old Town Alexandria townhouse as a group called All Children Matter Louisiana PAC. That group, whose parent organization also was founded by the DeVos family and promoted vouchers, gave about $86,000 to candidates for the Louisiana Legislature during the previous election cycle.
At the same L Street address of the American Federation for Children is a group called the Alliance for School Choice, whose website includes draft legislation for voucher programs.
On disclosures to the Louisiana Board of Ethics, identified as Advocates for School Choice, also at the same address, gave $250,000 to “Believe in Louisiana.” That’s a Baton Rouge-based group founded by
ardent Jindal supporter, Rolfe McCollister, and run by Jindal’s fundraiser, Allee Bautsch.
The group paid for radio commercials that supported Jindal and his policies.
Kyle Plotkin, Jindal’s communications director, says all the similarities are beside the point: Jindal has long wanted to “fix” Louisiana’s education system. It was one of the reasons he sought public service, Plotkin said.
“It’s a core issue for him,” Plotkin said.
Mark Ballard is editor of The Advocate’s Capitol news bureau. His email address is mballard@theadvocate.com.