“When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators.” — P. J. O’Rourke LINK (Brainy Quote)

               Our educational system directs the flow of billions of dollars each year to not only schools, but to the myriad of services connected to schools averaging $17,013 per pupil nationally 2019-20 (NCES).  Mark Lieberman reported in Education Week that in 2019-2020 our combined state and federal governments spent a total of $795 billion on direct education expenses amounting to 7% of the federal budget (Lieberman 2022).  According to the Sycamore Institute, Tennessee receives 1.1 billion from the Federal government for K-12 funding through over 12 programs (Spears 2023).  Between all these direct and indirect expenditures, testing companies, textbook companies, consultants, and bureaucrats reap significant dividends and salaries based on decisions made in the halls of our state and federal governments.  With that amount of money, no one should be surprised that large sums of money are also spent on swaying the positions and votes of our politicians.  Ninety million dollars was reported in 2022 for the entire U.S. for lobbying in education. 

               Long before Bill Lee became governor of Tennessee, educational reform foundations began their work in Tennessee.  These foundations are funded by other foundations – often run by billionaires living and working outside of Tennessee. The visionaries and advocacy groups behind these education reform movements have been working hard behind the scenes, some taking credit for directing the changes taking place over the last few years and some taking credit for influencing elections across the state through money spent for or against candidates – See “Election Influences” in Bibliography. 

               Now that Governor Lee has made the announcement about his Education Freedom legislation concerning school vouchers, the organizations and political action committee’s (PAC’s) working behind the scenes may see their decades long work paying off if Universal School vouchers come to Tennessee.  These entities have been hard at work positioning their legislators with funding for years.  One would expect groups like teacher’s unions to be constantly trying to influence votes, but they are not alone.  These pro-“school choice” groups have been consistently donating money to influence elections. Given the influence of money on one’s inclinations on an issue, one must ask how unbiased the politician may be after those larger donations along with other monetary influences to be described further below have become the norm for over a decade. 

               Now, before you dismiss five to ten thousand dollar donations as a drop in the bucket of a political campaign, some perspective is in order to gain a fuller picture of the influence of his money.  First, although there are dollar limits on how much money one person or one PAC can donate, the combination of several PAC’s working together can add up to much more than an individual donation.  Examples of this can be found in resources mentioned further below.  Second, for some state legislators whose total campaign donations are in the 100,000 to 200,000 dollar range, a total of $20,000 can be a sizable chunk.   Third, not all money is listed in campaign finances thanks to something known as “independent expenditures” which don’t have to be reported in the donations.  These expenditures can include a group covering the mailing cost for a candidate’s flyers or simply paying for ads against the competition.  Either way, thousands can and have been spent to help elect an official who will of course remain unbiased by such help when it comes time to vote (sarcasm).  Independent Expenditures can be seen here on this TABLE.  

               Fourth, and finally, we come to lobbying and lobbyists.  Tom Humphrey published in the Knox News Sentinel online edition in 2018 about this issue.  Even back then, he notes that three of the above pro-school choice PAC’s reported 1.2 million dollars in July 2018 disclosures.  He describes how this money was used in a variety of ways.  Some was spent on lobbyist direct work.  Some was spent on “independent expenditures” as noted in the prior paragraph.  Some of this money was spent on attack advertising in school board elections.  The full article linked below contains more details.

               With these various potential influxes of influential dollars into our legislators’ campaign pockets, we should ask who might these influences be and do we agree with them.  You could look at a state campaign finance website to wade through vast and confusing data hoping to make sense of it, or you can look at a few websites where others have done the arduous work for you.  By looking at these more understandable user interfaces, you will first see that Big Medicine influences our state government with a lot of money (this is a story for another day).  Then if you know the names to look for, you will see a number of education related groups beyond the Tennessee Education Association (TEA – teachers union) doing the same forms of influencing. 

               Some of the most noticeable pro-charter school, pro-education reform foundations and advocacy groups influencing legislation through legislators in Tennessee include the national entity 50CAN in Tennessee known as TennCAN (Tennesseans for Putting Students First (PAC)), Tennesseans for Student Success (Team Kid PAC), the national entity known as the  American Federation for Children (or Tennessee Federation for Children(, and the Great Public Schools PAC (also sometimes listed as Campaign for Great Public Schools/City Fund/Public School Allies.  (see Bibliography for “Organization Links”).

               Each of these groups deserve much deeper descriptions than this article can provide. However, I can give you enough of an overview through portions of their history, their founders, their operators, their stated goals, their past work, and their own financial sources to see that we as parents should be concerned about their influences.

               50 CAN:  Mark Magee started 50CAN as CONCAN in Connecticut and then expanded to national work.  This founder has a B.A. from Georgetown and a Ph.D. from Duke in sociology and desires to create local advocacy for reimagining schools through vouchers and accountability.  He was a founding member of the Progressive founding director of the Center for Civic Enterprise at the Progressive Policy Institute which worked toward influencing the “New” democratic party (Magee FutureEd and Fordham Institute).  He focuses on science based political advocacy at the local level and education reform through Choice options which include accountability as a core tenant. The organization began working in TN in 2011.  They take credit in their work for many of the education reforms in TN in recent years and they have a strategic plan for the state laid out in their Annual Updates and scoring of TN educational laws (2022 Tennessee Report Card).  This organization played a significant role in passing the TISA (Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement Act) educational reform in 2022.  Reading their site would initially make one think that their motives are well-intentioned for the good of children, but the complexities of how that is worked out deserves attention in a separate article to come.  For now, considering the sources of their funding one might be more hesitant to trust their stated goals.  Their donors include the Bill Gates Foundation and The Walton Foundation as noted on Influence Watch.  Tennessee CAN or TennCAN is simply the Tennessee chapter of 50CAN. Tennesseans for Putting Students First PAC appears to be the Political Action Committee arm of 50CAN and Tennessee, but I could be wrong as the campaign reports are confusing on this matter. Student Firsts was another pro-school choice organization initially operating in Tennessee but merged with 50CAN in 2016. 

               Tennessee Federation for Children (chapter of American Federation for Children (AFC)):  William Oberndorf partnered with the late John Walton in the early 1990s to form what today is known as the American Federation for Children.  Mr. Oberndorf still serves as Chairman. The AFC is reportedly an offshoot of the defunct All Children Matters organization connected with the DeVos family (Vogel 2016). See the Vogel site for their explanation of funding sources as their own site does not list funding sources. The focus of the Foundation is on K–12 education, mental health initiatives, and the environment. He is a life trustee of the University of California San Francisco where he chairs the Neuroscience Academy.

               Tennesseans for Student Success (and their TeamKid PAC) seems to be run by Tennesseans across middle and east Tennessee but their funding sources are not clear.  Of the two sources that are listed one is the Campaign for Great Public Schools which also has their own PAC.  Other funding sources are unknown.  Like the other entities, the website talks about innovation in education and charter schools as a means of choice (Friedman 2023 “27.1 million”).

               Great Public Schools PAC appears to be run by the democratic ex-mayor of Indianapolis, Indiana who now runs charter schools.  It is a pro-charter school PAC with two billionaire donors- one from California (the founder of Netflix) and one from Texas.  The PAC makes donations to both Tennessee legislators and to the other foundations such as Tennesseans for Student Success.

               For further insights and financial facts on how much these groups spent on various races in Tennessee, you can read the articles on the Tennessee Lookout by Friedman in the bibliography.  For even further nitty-gritty details you can compare and contrast database compilations for campaign contributions from both sides of the political fence.  On one side you can look at Legislative Report Card’s Contribution Dashboard.  On other side you can dig into the Cash For Clout site.  Their links are below.

Summary

               As I find myself in the odd position of agreeing with Democrat politicians on opposing School Choice (although for very different reasons), I appreciate one more quote:

“It’s an issue that Democrats and Republicans seem to come together on, the over-influence of money in politics and in power.” — Andrew Gillum – LINK (AZ Quotes)

               We clearly have good reason to question the neutrality of many legislators on the issue of choice after seeing the dollar amounts they have received from these groups.  These groups, on the surface, sound well-intentioned and agreeable, but the further you dig, the more concerning their worldviews and agenda become. Their donations and independent expenditures assisted in multiple re-election or opposition efforts across our state.  Politicians know who they need to please when the next election cycle comes around and do not forget who got them there in the first place.

               This same list of pro-“school choice” and public accountability organizations will likely be around for the next election cycle.  This list will help keep them there if they want to get re-elected.  Given the stakes in the decisions to be considered regarding education policy in Tennessee, we must hold our leaders accountable to the voters more than to these nationally funded advocacy foundations.  Our children and the future of our state are affected by the votes on Capitol Hill.  Take this issue seriously and return to learn more as we share more about why we believe School Choice or its Tennessee rebranded name “Education Freedom” is false advertising.  The people and groups behind this movement do not deserve our trust.  When you are ready, tell your Representative or Senator what you think and why you believe that way.  Reach out to me if you want to know more. 

Election Influences:

50 Can . (n.d.). Our results. 50CAN National. https://50can.org/our-approach/our-results. Accessed 12/10/2023.

About Tennesseans for student success. SuccessCard. (2020, June 17). https://tnsuccesscard.com/about-tennesseans-for-student-success/#12/10/2023.  Accessed 12/10/2023.

Friedman, A.  T. L. N. 30. (2023, December 3). The $27.1 million clash between Education Reform and Public School advocates. Tennessee Lookout. https://tennesseelookout.com/2023/11/30/the-27-1-million-clash-between-education-reform-and-public-school-advocates/. Accessed 12/10/23.

Williams, P. (2023, November 20). Revealed: Confidential documents describe secret effort to elect lawmakers for school privatization. News Channel 5 Nashville (WTVF). https://www.newschannel5.com/news/newschannel-5-investigates/revealed/revealed-confidential-documents-describe-secret-effort-to-elect-lawmakers-for-school-privatization. accessed 12/10/23.

Winning candidates in competitive legislative primaries were rewarded for putting students first. Tennesseans for Student Success. (2022, August 5). https://tnsuccess.org/winning-candidates-in-competitive-legislative-primaries-were-rewarded-for-putting-students-first. Accessed 12/10/23.

Organization Links:

               50CAN  https://50can.org/ 

               TennesseeCAN  https://tn-can.org/

               American Federation for Children https://www.federationforchildren.org/

               Tennessee Federation for Children https://www.schoolchoicetn.com/about/

               Tennesseans for Student Success https://tnsuccess.org/

               Great Public Schools PAC- no website found- 2 billionaires give money (Smith 2022)

               Casey Smith, I. C. C. O. 31. (2022, October 31). PAC led by former Indy mayor Bart Peterson gives                big to pro-charter School candidates. Indiana Capital Chronicle. https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2022/10/31/pac-led-by-former-indy-mayor-bart-peterson-gives-big-to-pro-charter-school-candidates/

Bibliography:

2022 Tennessee Policy Report Card. TennesseeCAN. (2022, November). https://tn-can.org/research-and-resources/research/

50CAN. Influence Watch. (2020, January 2). https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/50can-inc/#:~:text=50CAN%20has%20received%20grants%20over,the%20Silicon%20Valley%20Community%20Foundation.

Contributions dashboard. The Legislative Report Card. (2023, November 14). https://tnreportcard.org/contributions-dashboard/

Fordham Institute. By the company it keeps: Marc Porter Magee. The Thomas B. Fordham Institute. https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/company-it-keeps-marc-porter-magee

Friedman, A. (2023, July 24). Cash for clout: Who’s funding Tennessee’s politics? Tennessee Lookout. https://tennesseelookout.com/2023/07/24/cash-for-clout-whos-funding-tennessees-politics/

Friedman, A. (2023, November 28). Independent spending by pro-charter groups. Flourish. https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/15928805/

Humphrey, T. (2016, October 16). Tennessee pro-charter School Pacs’ spending up. Knoxville News Sentinel. https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/2016/10/16/tennessee-pro-charter-school-pacs-spending-up/92055016/

Leading lobbying industries U.S. 2022. Statista. (2023, November 3). https://www.statista.com/statistics/257364/top-lobbying-industries-in-the-us/

Lieberman, M. (2022, May 11). What America spends on K-12: The latest federal snapshot. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/what-america-spends-on-k-12-the-latest-federal-snapshot/2022/05

Marc Porter Magee. FutureEd. (2023, February 8). https://www.future-ed.org/team/marc-porter-magee/

NCES Fast Facts.  National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home Page, a part of the U.S. Department of Education. (n.d.). https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=66

Spears, M. (2023, November 9). Federal funding for K-12 education in Tennessee. The Sycamore Institute. https://www.sycamoreinstitutetn.org/tn-federal-k12-funding/#:~:text=Programs%20and%20Requirements-,Tennessee%20typically%20receives%20about%20%241.1%20billion%20annually%20in%20federal%20K,federal%20requirements%20(Figure%202)

Vogel, W. by P. (2016, April 27). Here are the corporations and right-wing funders backing the Education Reform Movement. Media Matters for America. https://www.mediamatters.org/daily-caller/here-are-corporations-and-right-wing-funders-backing-education-reform-movement#ascafc