Oh Yeah, Those Guys

My letter to the Philadelphia Daily News:

Will Bunch’s recent article identifies wealthy Americans who are voluntary donating their money to push greater school choice.  Bunch fails to balance the story by identifying the groups lobbying against school choice—groups profiting off the $26 billion Pennsylvanians spend on public schools, whose revenue comes not by voluntary contributions, but by tax dollars and forced dues.

More than $81 million is funneled through school districts to the numerous acronyms of special interests groups. These groups have formed a coalition titled “Pennsylvanians Opposed to Vouchers,” lobbying with tax dollars against the best interest of taxpayers. 

The PSEA, through union dues and fair share fees school districts forcibly deduct from employees’ paychecks, is running radio and TV ads attacking school vouchers and calling for more tax dollars for public schools.  In another case, a Democrat political consulting firm has been running a stealth campaign against vouchers, posing as a tea party group opposed to a “voucher tax.”

Unlike the supporters of vouchers and education tax credits, these groups are not motivated by the best interest of children.  Rather, they are trying to protect their $26 billion fiefdom of failure.