Campaign watch

Learning Curve

It's easy to see why Indiana Gov. Mike Pence is so eager to embrace the pro-privatization forces working to dismantle public education. They spend lots of money, after all, electing politicians to support their mission.Tuesday

ALEC's star performer

ALEC, the corporate-controlled legislative group promoting a systemic destruction of public education, has released its annual report card. Indiana, ALEC's poster child for destructive reform, earns a B+ on the dubious roll and ranks it first in the May 9, 2013

Bad news for voucher supporters

A different state, a different decision. Louisiana's Supreme Court has ruled the funding mechanism for the school voucher program violates theMay 7, 2013

Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett filed a large contribution report (required for contributions over $1,000) last week showing a $10,000 campaign contribution from Robert L. Luddy of Raleigh, N.C.

"Luddy, the founder and CEO of Raleigh, North Carolina-based CaptiveAire Systems, Inc., has battled lawmakers and rocked local school systems by building private schools with pricey tuition and limited enrollments," according to a bio on a University of Louisville speaker series profile. "He believes the schools are necessary to give parents choices beyond overcrowded and overburdened public school systems."

Luddy was the target of a protest at North Carolina State University in 2010, according to a blog devoted to the Wake County school system.

A brochure promoting the demonstration proclaimed: "This small but wealthy minority is threatening the future of our entire education. Luddy and his cohorts can't be allowed to freely dismantle public education to further their agendas."