Dark Money and the Politics of School Privatization

This book goes deep behind the scenes of school privatization campaigns to expose the complex networks of funding that sustain these efforts - often hidden from the view of the public. Using the example of a 2016 Massachusetts charter school referendum, Cunningham shows how wealthy individuals support charter school expansion through so-called “social welfare” organizations, thereby obscuring the true sources of funding while influencing major public policy votes. With vast wealth and a political agenda, foundations have helped to reshape the reform landscape in urban education.
“Cunningham's book is a valuable guide to the dark money funding the privatization of our public schools. As a champion of transparency and accountability, his writings literally changed the outcome of an important election in Massachusetts. We need many more like him!” - Diane Ravitch, author of Slaying Goliath: The Passionate Resistance to Privatization and the Fight toSave America’s Public Schools
“This book offers a detailed description of an important state political battle between charter school supporters and opponents. Yet the work’s real strength lies in the author’s investigative reporting showing that political systems which are supposed to be transparent are anything but.” - Robert Maranto, Editor, Journal of School Choice
“Cunningham shows that when the billionaires behind privatization schemes are unmasked, they can be defeated. This urgent how-to story should be read, shared, and applied.” - Nancy MacLean, author of Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America

“Using Massachusetts as a case study, Cunningham explores the ways that plutocrats have begun to leverage dark money in their efforts to pull apart the last great vestige of public life in the United States: our public schools.” - Jack Schneider, co-author of A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door: The Dismantling of Public Education and the Future of School