Dark Money and the Politics of School Privatization

by Maurice T. Cunningham

Overview

This book goes deep behind the scenes of school privatization campaigns to expose the complex networks of funding that sustain these efforts - often hidden from the view of the public. Using the example of a 2016 Massachusetts charter school referendum, Cunningham shows how wealthy individuals support charter school expansion through so-called “social welfare” organizations, thereby obscuring the true sources of funding while influencing major public policy votes. With vast wealth and a political agenda, foundations have helped to reshape the reform landscape in urban education.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783030732646
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan
Publication date:	10/08/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	850,891
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Maurice T. Cunningham was Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA from 1999 through 2021. He is a co-founder of the popular MassPoliticsProfs.org blog. He has received awards for his work on dark money from the Massachusetts Association of School Committees and the Massachusetts Teachers Association.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: Deceiving Democracy.- 2. The Campaign of 2016.- 3. Boardroom Progressives or Rich People’s Movement?.- 4. Secret Funders: Oligarchs United.- 5. Political Fronts.- 6. Upstream Money and Downstream Money: The Hidden Flow of Funds.- 7. Democrats for Education Reform and the Inside Job.- 8. Racial Perceptions, Racial Realities.- 9. After 2016: Money Never Sleeps.- 10. Conclusion: Defeating Dark Money in School Privatization—And Everywhere Else.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Cunningham's book is a valuable guide to the dark money funding the privatization of our public schools. As a champion of transparency and accountability, his writings literally changed the outcome of an important election in Massachusetts. We need many more like him!” (Diane Ravitch, author of Slaying Goliath: The Passionate Resistance to Privatization and the Fight to Save America’s Public Schools)

“This book offers a detailed description of an important state political battle between charter school supporters and opponents. Yet the work’s real strength lies in the author’s investigative reporting showing that political systems which are supposed to be transparent are anything but.” (Robert Maranto, Editor, Journal of School Choice)

“Cunningham shows that when the billionaires behind privatization schemes are unmasked, they can be defeated. This urgent how-to story should be read, shared, and applied.” (Nancy MacLean, author of Democracy in Chains: The Deep Historyof the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America)

“Using Massachusetts as a case study, Cunningham explores the ways that plurats have begun to leverage dark money in their efforts to pull apart the last great vestige of public life in the United States: our public schools.” (Jack Schneider, co-author of A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door: The Dismantling of Public Education and the Future of School)

“In the next few years, most school reform action will happen not in Washington but in the states. This book offers a detailed description of an important state political battle between charter school supporters and opponents. That alone makes this book worth reading. Yet the work’s real strength lies in the author’s investigative reporting showing that political systems which are supposed to be transparent are anything but” (Robert Maranto, University of Arkansas and Editor, Journal of School Choice)