Michelle Rhee group spent $900,000 on ads attacking teachers in Michigan

[Bozita]

She cheats; she lies; she obfuscates. The woman who brought the Shock Doctrine to America's public schools.



Group spent $900,000 on ads attacking teachers
By Eartha Jane Melzer | 09.15.11 | 3:39 pm

An organization that worked with the state legislature to draft laws that limit collective bargaining rights and tenure for teachers spent more than $900,000 on advertising in the first seven months of this year.

The Michigan Campaign Finance Network reports that Students First, a California and D.C.-based ‘education reform’ organization, spent more than any other group on lobbying over this period.

StudentsFirst was founded by Michelle Rhee, a former leader of the Washington, D.C. public schools.

The group pushed a four-bill package that makes it harder for teachers to get tenure and easier for districts to lay off teachers and bans teachers from bargaining over personnel issues, including matters relating to placement and discipline.

StudentsFirst worked to create public support for these measures with a campaign that included TV and radio ads, targeted direct mail and support for constituent calls to lawmakers.

more...
http://michiganmessenger.com/52485/group-spent-900000-on-ads-attacking-teachers

[madfloridian]

1. Recommended. She is doing this all over the country.

Thanks for posting. Unfortunately, Arne seems to love her policies.

[L. Coyote]

2. Education Reform Stimulates Lobbying Economy

http://ipr.interlochen.org/ipr-news-features/episode/15725


By Peter Payette

Education reform is driving lots of spending on lobbying so far this year in Michigan. Well more than a million dollars has been spent advocating positions on new laws like changes to teacher tenure. Much of that is accounted for by a new player on the scene, a national education reform group call StudentsFirst.

New force in education debate

StudentsFirst debuted at the top of the list in Michigan by spending $951,000 from January to June. Spokesman Hari Sevugan says it might be something of a misnomer to call their work lobbying, which suggests directly pressuring lawmakers. He says almost all their money went to television ads.

"We certainly have spoken to the public on teacher quality and how we improve teacher quality."

StudentsFirst is based in California. It supports policies like more charter schools and linking teacher pay to student performance. .............

[L. Coyote]

3. Ad campaign supported Mich. teacher tenure changes

Ad campaign supported Mich. teacher tenure changes
By TIM MARTIN Associated Press
1:55 p.m. CDT, September 14, 2011
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-mi-teachertenure-mic,0,4713073.story


LANSING, Mich.—
An organization that supports eliminating or limiting the significance of teacher tenure reported spending nearly $900,000 on advertising in Michigan during the first seven months of 2011.

The StudentsFirst spending was mentioned in a report Wednesday from the nonprofit Michigan Campaign Finance Network. The national education group advertised in Michigan this year as lawmakers made changes to the state's teacher tenure system.

Legislation that will make teacher performance the key factor in awarding tenure and deciding layoffs in districts instead of seniority were signed into law by Gov. Rick Snyder in July.

StudentsFirst reported the most spending of any group in Michigan for the first part of 2011 on its lobbying expenditure forms, but 95 percent of that $951,018 was for television and other advertising................

[MichiganVote]

Its the DeVos Voucher Plan-Sink the teachers, privatize schools

[The Backlash Cometh]

4. I wish there was a button we could push on our t.v. to block out all the

right-wing commercials.

[FLAprogressive]

5. Students First???? Yeah right....it's Profits First for Rhee.

[glinda]

6. Traitor to the values of this Country.

[butterfly77]

7. And she runs her ass..

on Fox talking down teachers.