| CLICK HERE TO SEE THE LIST OF ALL 400 DONORS Schools Some of Bush's largest donors stand to profit from privatizing public education.
by Michael Scherer March 5, 2001 During the presidential campaign, a reporter asked George W. Bush whether he supports the growing movement to privatize public education. Across the country, for-profit companies have opened "charter schools" to compete with public classrooms, saying they can save taxpayers money and improve student performance. But Bush dodged the question, implying that Texas is not privatizing education. "In my state," he said, "charter schools are public schools." What Bush neglected to mention is that many charter schools in Texas, while still a part of the public education system, are run by for-profit companies. And many of the biggest shareholders of those firms invested heavily in Bush, who pledged to provide $3 billion in federal loans for new charter schools and to offer subsidies for students to attend private schools. Just as brokers stand to benefit from privatizing Social Security, some of Bush's largest donors would profit from turning education over to the marketplace. Two of the largest backers of Edison Schools, the nation's largest private manager of public schools, contributed heavily to the Republicans. John Childs (No. 17), a Boston financier, gave $670,000, and Donald Fisher (No. 184), chairman of the Gap, gave $260,800, all but $62,800 to the GOP. Investors in Advantage Schools, one of Edison's chief competitors, also backed the GOP. John Hennessy (No. 362), whose Credit Suisse First Boston has pumped $19 million into Advantage, took a lead fundraising role for Bush and contributed $164,000 of his own money to the Republicans. John Doerr (No. 55, $477,500) and Kevin Compton of the Silicon Valley venture firm Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, which has invested in Advantage, also ventured into politics. Compton gave $143,000 to Republicans, while Doerr supported Gore, who promoted a charter school plan of his own. In addition, the GOP received large contributions from several of the nation's leading advocates for school vouchers, which provide public funds to students attending private schools. Richard DeVos (No. 12), the founder of Amway, put up $10 million of his own money for a failed voucher initiative in Michigan last year. He also gave $764,500 to Republican campaigns. David Brennan (No. 389), an industrialist who helped launch a voucher plan declared unconstitutional by the Ohio Supreme Court and who opened a for-profit charter school company called White Hat Management, contributed $155,500. President Bush will also need public support to turn education over to for-profit companies -- and some of his largest donors have been working to improve the industry's image. Wal-Mart heir John Walton (No. 396, $153,250) has spent millions promoting voucher initiatives, and buyout specialist Theodore Forstmann (No. 210, $251,000), who shares ownership of a higher education for-profit called Capella Education, has financed an advertising campaign to promote privatization. "What I'm talking about is simply making an effort to educate the American people," Forstmann told reporters. "Let's see if we can start a movement." | | |
