Abbott Education Plan: Insider Deals & Donor Favors
As Greg Abbott continues to spend taxpayer money defending an unconstitutional school funding system affecting more than 600 school districts comprising three-quarters of Texas public school students, his education plan is rife with special interest influence.
Abbott gets an “A+” in using his campaign as a cash register to sell out to big donors. One such donor, Academic Partnerships, Inc. and its CEO, Randy Best, have pumped thousands of dollars into Abbott’s campaign, according to the Texas Ethics Commission. The company has already received over $7.5 million from the state for distance-education services. Not surprisingly, Abbott’s current digital education plan apes Academic Partnerships sales pitch.
* Randy Best is also a major donor to another group with ties to Abbott: Texans for Lawsuit Reform. In fact, in recent years, TLR has departed from its traditional focus on tort reform and begun dabbling in education policy. Other big Abbott/TLR donors with education interests include David Booth of Dimensional Fund Advisors - one of the largest shareholders of Pearson - and school voucher advocate James Leininger.
* According to records obtained by the Lone Star Project, on April 1, 2013, Abbott’s Chief of Staff Daniel Hodge participated in an “Education Reform Meeting," which included Dick Trabulsi and Dick Weekley of Texans for Lawsuit Reform, as well as mega-GOP donor and TLR supporter, the late-Bob Perry.
Read more: http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/15648/abbott-education-plan-insider-deals-donor-favors
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