INTRODUCTION
In an article published by the National Education Policy Center, (NEPC) Lawrence Blum analyzes what occurred in the November 2016 election in Massachusetts when voters decisively defeated a referendum, funded by corporate backers of charter schools and privatization. The measure would have significantly increased the number of charter schools in the state and was fought in a campaign called “No on 2.”
With permission of the NEPC, we reprint Blum’s article. In this Policy Brief, Barbara Madeloni, President of the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA), elected as the candidate of a reform caucus, Educators for a Democratic Union (EDU), responds to questions I have posed (in italics) about the union’s involvement in the “No on 2” campaign, especially aspects of racial politics as well as MTA’s internal politics. Following the protocol of the Policy Project, the Brief is followed by a commentary presenting a different perspective. Dr. Marilyn Maye, Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership at New Jersey City University, teaching and serving in leadership roles related to the preparation of leaders for public schools, has written the commentary for this Brief. In addition to writing for professional journals, she is author of They are men and not gods, Stone of Help, and co-author of Orita: Rites of passage for youth of African descent in America, and Beloved Educators: Women of Color Who Inspire Us. Dr. Maye is also a Consulting Director of the Policy Project.
Many thanks to both authors for finding time to contribute to this discussion. I hope future commentaries will address the controversies their work has illuminated.
Dr. Lois Weiner, Director
Urban Education and Teacher Unionism Policy Project
