Hedge fund operator got state to take over schools

[roxiejules]

The parties were put together by a group funded by $1.3 million from the Walton Family Foundation. It appears the public voice was left out of the discussion.



via Scathing Purple Musings


While the WSJ doesn’t include in its story that it was a Walton Family funded group whom facilitated the relationship, it reports on the curious contact between a billionaire hedge funder and the Connecticut State Board of Education to prompt the private takeover of Bridgeport schools.

Behind what seemed to be an emergency takeover of Bridgeport, Conn.’s public school system in July turns out to have involved six months of back-channel negotiations among state education officials and a hedge fund manager’s charitable foundation, new documents show.

Dating back as far as January, emails referencing a state takeover of the Bridgeport public school system were exchanged between the Bridgeport Schools Superintendent John Ramos, the state board of education head Allan Taylor,Coleman, and Meghan Lowney, who according to tax forms was an independent contractor for the $134 million family foundation of Sue and Steve Mandel, the founder of Lone Pine Capital in Greenwich. The emails also mention Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch’s involvement in the matter, though he was not included on any of the emails reviewed. Lowney was introduced to state school board chairman Allan Taylor over email by Alex Johnston, founder of education reform advocacy group Conncan.

In an email to Taylor on Jan. 11, Lowney stated that her bosses, billionaire philanthropists Steve and Sue Mandel, were “focused on education reform” and helping “Bridgeport get going with meaningful school change.” She said the foundation had joined with other education funders to revise Bridgeport’s education charter and establish mayoral control of the schools.

For the next few months, Lowney pushed Taylor to accelerate a takeover of Bridgeport schools. In turn, Taylor shared those emails with Coleman, the state’s acting education commissioner.

The new school board has been appointed without election and the old board dissolved without a public hearing:


http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/After-anxious-wait-Coleman-announces-new-1743182.php#ixzz1UCgEBZnj

[madfloridian]

1. Now that is scary. The reformers are pushy and never back down.

[roxiejules]

4. Looks like the Democratic candidate for mayor has filed suit to stop the takeover

She is challenging the current Democrat mayor, who facilitated the takeover.


http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Foster-s-slate-files-suit-to-halt-takeover-of-1741153.php


Members of mayoral candidate Mary Jane Foster's Board of Education slate (Democratic candidate for mayor) filed suit in Superior Court Friday seeking to stop the state from any further actions in their plan to take over the school system.

The suit also asks the court to rule the state's dissolution of the Board of Education improper and place Foster's candidates on the November ballot if they submit the necessary number of voter petitions.

Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Foster-s-slate-files-suit-to-halt-takeover-of-1741153.php#ixzz1UCx4B9ju

[roxiejules]

5. Mandel worked for Goldman Sachs

and is on the National Board of Directors for Teach for America.

Stephen Mandel


-- Stephen Mandel, Greenwich

Mandel, 54, is the "tiger cub" -- so-called for his apprenticeship at Julian Robertson's legendary Tiger Management -- who founded Greenwich-based Lone Pine Capital. Its hedge funds that are often among the top-performing in the world. Lone Dragon Pine returned 73 percent last year, while Lone Cyprus, Mandel's flagship find, gave investors a 17 percent return on their money. His success has put $1.6 billion in his own wallet.

[saras]

2. Arbitrarily replacing elected officials with appointed shills?

Any sensible and appropriate action would be illegal, and probably get some Federal authority on my ass as well as being permanently banned from DU.

Let's just say that in some cases, the country needs an emergency initiative version of the death penalty.

If they're that short of money, obviously the administrators should go on unpaid leave, but keep on working until they fix things, with special attention paid to minimal disruption of the teachers, who actually get the work of schooling done.

[plumbob]

3. You are right, and I share that emergency initiative