Opening the Books on Public School Advocacy

Thank you for “Gift by State School Board Chief Raises Questions” (Aug. 27), regarding my passionate advocacy for high-quality public schools in California. It is true I have donated lots of money to improve public schools.

I have donated significant sums to ballot initiatives that improve public education. Through these efforts we have been able to make it substantially easier to pass school bonds to build more classrooms and make it easier to start new charter schools. My donations to these efforts were approximately $8 million over the past four years. The Parent Teacher Assn. and the California Teachers Assn. were my primary partners in these efforts.

I have donated significant sums to nonprofits helping education, including $400,000 to the California Network of Educational Charters; $1 million to Aspire Public Schools; $300,000 to Pacific Collegiate Public School; and $1 million to NewSchools, as well as numerous smaller grants.

I have donated modestly, compared to my other donations, to state political candidates, for a total of less than $300,000.

None of my donations are investments. I do not seek, nor would I accept, any personal economic gain of any sort from any of these causes. I have no financial stake, nor do I receive any type of remuneration from any public school, charter or otherwise, or any other entity that is directly influenced by decisions of the board.

The number of new charter schools created each year has jumped 600% since my first effort to strengthen charter law succeeded. However, unlike some, I don’t believe in anything-goes charter schools that pocket the taxpayers’ money and do not well serve their kids. Thus my support for Senate Bill 740. I’m sorry that many of my traditional allies in the charter movement do not support the fiscal cleanups in SB 740, but I think they are prudent and necessary.

Reed Hastings

President, State Board

of Education, Sacramento