Asshats Use Gates/Hedge Fund Cash For Propaganda

The Asshats4Excellence, otherwise known as the Educators4Excellence to you Gotham Charter Schools readers, have gone up with a pro-APPR ad calling for Cuomo to impose his own teacher evaluation system on NYC teachers.

Where do the Asshats, a "grassroots" group of a few dozen teachers and ex-teachers (no matter what their roster says, they can never get more than that number to their public events), get their funding for these ads and help with their group?

You got that right - from the Gates Foundation and the Democrats For Education Reform and some other hedge fund/Wall Street connected groups under the umbrella of Education Reform Now and assorted other corporate reformy groups.

In 2010, the group raised a little under $350,000 in donations.

In 2011, the group had a little under $2 million.

That's a lot of cash money for a couple of dozen teachers and ex-teachers.

Of course the corporate media uncritically runs with the story that "an independent teacher group" is calling on Cuomo to impose an evaluation system on NYC teachers.

But this isn't some independent teacher group going up with the ad.

This is the Gates Foundation/DFER's/Education Reform Now/hedge fundies going up with the ad.

It would be nice if that fact showed up in the news stories about the ad.

But that would be asking too much, wouldn't it?