Contact Senator Murray Today

From our friends over at the Seattle Education blog, comes news from a column in the Huffington Post by Leonie Hamison, "Will Our Federal Government Renounce Their Proposal to Increase Class Size".

The Obama administration has proposed that in next year’s education budget, 25 percent of the funds to reduce class size or keep teachers on staff be diverted to a competitive grant program to create and expand “new pathways” to teaching — e.g. to help fund organizations like Teach For America.

That would mean a cut of more than $600 million that, if approved, would lead to even larger classes in schools throughout the country next year. Senate Appropriations Committee will have its say on this issue next week when it considers the FY13 Labor, Health and Education funding bill. Recently, a group of corporate education reform groups, let by 50-CAN and joined by other organizations including Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst and Teach for America, sent a letter to Senate leaders, urging them to adopt the president’s proposal.

Here is contact info for Senator Murray.

You can also contact Senator Murray’s aide, Moire Duggan, moire_duggan@murray.senate.gov, and send her a message that will get to the Senator.

Let them hear from you.  Money for the classroom should be in the classroom and not in the hands of Wendy Kopp (TFA) and Michelle Rhee (Students First).  

Comments

suep. said…
That's disgusting. Teach for America, Inc. once again holding out its hand for even more taxpayer money?

The Obama administration has already doled out at least $50 million to Wendy Kopp's Teach for America, Inc., plus at least $50 million to Kopp's husband, Richard Barth, and his charter franchise KIPP, Inc. (Sweet deals for that household.)

See: Education Department Deals Out Big Awards

TFA, Inc. also got another $50 mil from Walmart last year, so it certainly doesn't need government funding too.

See: Wal-Mart Founders Charity Gives $50 Million to Teach for America

Enough already with this obscene diverting of scarce public education funding to private profiteers.

And where the heck is all the money going to anyway? TFA, Inc. has been around for 20 years now and what has it to show for it?
Anonymous said…
Done. Let's hope Patty listens.

FHP
Anonymous said…
Done.

Please forward message to 3 friends.
forgot to sign said…
Above message was from:

I <3 Seattle
acmyscp said…
To begin with, Teach for America and other similar alternative pathways to teaching are a joke. I personally wouldn't let my child be taught by someone from TFA.

Additionally, the use of competitive grants has got to stop-- it is nothing but a devious method of getting school systems to adopt fake reform policies in the hopes if "winning" one of the grants.
Anonymous said…
Oh, I read this and Parent does not like this one bit. Will call the senator..

Parent
Anonymous said…
done.

foroccupyingjsc
Anonymous said…
Sent a nice letter to the Senator this afternoon. Thanks for the heads up!

FedMomof2
Anonymous said…
Sent a few tweets and an email. Thanks for keeping us informed!

CT
Anonymous said…
This isn't unique to the Department of Education. It's going on throughout the Obama Administration. They're taking money from programs that work, usually that benefit the middle and lower classes, to spend on their own pet projects which have unproven value. It's like taking rent money and gambling it away at the casino, hoping to win big.

-- Ebenezer

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