Broad Henchwoman Directing DOE's Race To The Top

Last May, Arne Duncan appointed Joanne Weiss as Director of Race To The Top, the multi-billion dollar competitively earned fund which Duncan and Obama have designated to "encourge and reward States that are creating the conditions for [Eli Broad's designed plan of] education innovation and reform." With states so desperate for money, they are essentially being forced to comply.

Joanne Weiss' most recent employment was as Partner and COO at NewSchools Venture Fund. Her job description states, “she focuses on investment strategy and management assistance to a variety of the firm's portfolio ventures, and oversees the organization's operations. As part of this work, she serves on the boards of Aspire Public Schools, Green Dot Public Schools, Leadership Public Schools, New Leaders for New Schools, Revolution Foods, Rocketship Education and Teachscape.”

NewSchools Venture Fund, Aspire, Green Dot and New Leaders for New Schools have received millions of dollars from Eli Broad. You could say that Broad paid for a significant amount of Weiss’ salary. The 2006 - 990 for NSVF declared that Weiss was compensated $228,000 (page 28). During 2005, the NSVF received a total of $13,111,610 in gifts, grants and contributions (pg. 13). That year, Broad gave $1,860,000, or 14.2% of the total, in contributions.

Contributions from Eli Broad to the following organizations

	Aspire Public Schools¹	Green Dot Public Schools ²	New Leaders for New Schools ³	NewSchools Venture Fund 	Total
2001	-	-	$1,056,000	-	$1,056,000
2002	-	-	$1,218,000	$530,000	$1,748,000
2003	-	-	$2,250,000	$470,000	$2,720,000
2004	$1,500,000	$700,000	$2,000,000	$500,000	$4,700,000
2005	$1,800,000	$700,000	$720,000	$1,860,000	$5,080,000
2006	$450,000	$700,000	$375,000	$650,000	$2,175,000
2007	$145,200	$1,210,040	$375,000	$3,595,000	$5,325,240
Total	$3,895,200	$3,310,040	$7,994,000	$7,605,000	$22,804,240

¹ Aspire Public Schools: The charter management organization co-founded by Don Shalvey and Reed Hastings, the founder and CEO of Netflix. Just before this, they co-authored the California Charter School Initiative which was signed into law in 1998, thus lifting the cap on charter schools in California.

² Green Dot Public Schools: The charter management organization which was launched by Steve Barr with support of Reed Hastings. Hastings also co-founded EdVoice with John Doerr (investment banker) and is connected to Eli Broad and the recently deceased Don Fisher (The Gap, KIPP’s big supporter). Broad and Fisher were co-chairs on the EdVoice board.

³ New Leaders for New Schools: The principal training program created by this faction that implements an alternative curriculum and pays its participants a salary while they are being trained. NLFNS also makes arrangements for school districts to assign the participants to administrative positions at schools. NLFNS also trains its participants for administrative positions in charter schools.

 NewSchools Venture Fund: Some Broad Foundation 990s list this as the “New Schools Fund.” The NSVF is a major hub where funds are accumulated and then distributed to charter management organizations and “education entrepreneurs,” both nonprofit and for-profit. Reed Hastings helped to start the NSVF. In 2003 it also received $22 million from the Gates Foundation to “create systems of charter schools through nonprofit charter management organizations.”