By Alan Singer.
Many of the funders behind the charter school campaign to undermine public schools and privatize education in the United States are Wall Street financiers and hedge fund billionaires. We may need to put “hedge fund detectors” at school entrances.
In 2013, SAC Capital, founded and owned by charter school financial angel Steven A. Cohen, pleaded guilty to criminal fraud and agreed to pay $1.8 billion in fines. According to the New York Times, in January 2016, Cohen was barred for two years from managing money other than his own personal fortune. Cohen, one of the wealthiest people in the United States, worked out a deal with federal prosecutors so he would not face personal criminal charges.
While Cohen is not trusted with other people’s money, this same Steven A. Cohen, working through his Steven A. Cohen and Alexandria M. Cohen Foundation, gives “major support to charter schools and advocacy . . . Most K-12 charter funding comes through the foundation’s Education program, but funding opportunities exist through its Arts program as well.” But if he can’t be trusted with money, why is trusted with education?
According to the Foundation website, the Cohens have “a longstanding commitment to educational reforms, particularly through the charter school movement.” Cohen money goes to charter schools and networks especially Achievement First, but also Excel Bridgeport, Connecticut Charter School Network, Harlem Children’s Zone, and The Equity Project charter school. In addition, they are big funders of Teach for America. According to the website Inside Philanthropy, “each of these recipients has received funding in the six-to-seven figures over the last several years.”
The Connecticut Courant reports that Cohen and his wife are also major contributors in Connecticut to political candidates pledged to support public funding for charter schools and to Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCAN), which lobbies in the state capital for additional public dollars for the charters.
Maybe someone can explain to me why the CEO of a company that pleaded guilty to criminal fraud, a man who is barred from managing other people’s money, is permitted to influence educational policy in the United States.
When it comes to dealing with Wall Street financiers and hedge fund billionaires, the United States should learn from Uganda. In August, the Ugandan Minister of Education and Sports announced in parliament that the Government would close schools operated by Bridge International Academies (BIA), which runs 63 nursery and primary schools in Uganda. Ministry reports revealed that the schools violated national health and educational standards. Bridge is a for-profit chain of private schools with ties to Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Pearson Education, the World Bank, and the U.S. and British Governments. Click here or a full report on the campaign to shut down Bridge.
