The Freedom Foundation has worked against public education and teachers in Washington. They have waged a relentless campaign over the last 15 years against funding our kids’ schools, raising salaries for K-12 teachers and public school employees, and providing technology and training for students. Here’s a quick rundown:
The Freedom Foundation opposes voter-approved smaller class sizes and the quality teachers our students need to be successful:
In November of 2014, the voters of Washington again approved a ballot measure to reduce class sizes for Washington students. Jami Lund, the Freedom Foundation’s Senior Policy Analyst, served as a “volunteer” spokesperson against this popular campaign. He wrote op-eds and participated in campaign debates against the initiative. The Columbian Newspaper said the Freedom Foundation was “behind a grass-roots effort to defeat the measure.” Thankfully, the voters saw through their narrow-minded attacks and put the needs of our students first.
The Freedom Foundation coordinated a campaign to defeat local school levies across the state:
Due to inadequate state funding, school districts in every community in Washington rely on levies to pay for regular operating expenses and basic support services. In 2014, the Freedom Foundation coordinated efforts in local jurisdictions to oppose these local school levies because they helped pay for additional classroom teachers, teaching training, and additional days of work. In fact, three Freedom Foundation activists submitted statements in the voters’ pamphlet against dozens of local school levies, including opposition to the Auburn, Bellevue, Federal Way, Fife, Lake Washington, Mercer Island, Northshore, Riverview, Tahoma, and Vashon School Districts in King County alone.
Wealthy Freedom Foundation board members waged a local campaign against equipping our kids' schools with modern technology:
Districts across the state are upgrading technology to give students the training and skills necessary to compete in the global, high-tech economy. In 2002, the Mead School District in suburban Spokane sought to upgrade its computers and install high-speed Internet for students. However, parents and teachers in Mead ran into a shady opposition campaign against the technology upgrades run by a member of the Freedom Foundation’s Board of Directors.
Wealthy conservatives and Freedom Foundation board member Duane Alton and his spouse Andree sent out a mail piece to voters opposed to the school bond just a week before the election. However, they used Andree’s maiden name – which she had changed nearly 10 years earlier – and sent the mail using a neighbor’s address to hide the Altons’ identity on the mailers. Ultimately, the bond measure failed, leaving thousands of kids without necessary technology in their classrooms.