The Pioneer Institute: Privatizing the Common Wealth

A report from Political Research Associates

Advance Praise for the Report

"The report is a model of investigative research. It is particularly powerful in exposing the Pioneer Institute’s role in charter school legislation that has used the rhetoric of innovation to fatten the bank balances of for-profit education companies and their executives. The report makes clear that in the marketplace of ideas, as in the economic marketplace, the game is rigged in favor of those with money and political connections."

"Dunphy and Perkins remind us of the power of ideas—and the value of generous funding to generate and promote those ideas. Their study documents how a small number of wealthy conservatives leveraged millions of dollars from foundations and corporations to shape a conservative policy agenda. Their research is a wake-up call for those committed to progressive ideals. Politics is not just about winning elections or protecting the status quo; it is also about generating new and exciting ideas that can help transform people's lives."

"Public school parents, teachers, legislators and anyone concerned with the future of public education in Massachusetts will find Dunphy and Perkins’ report invaluable. It reveals clearly the role of conservative ideologues colluding with a wing of the corporate sector to undermine democratic control of public education, and transform it into a source of private profit. Parents will be outraged to discover that the chair of the state Board of (Public) Education, James Peyser, remained the executive director of the Pioneer Institute, while using his official position to advance Pioneer’s narrow agenda to privatize public education."