“I don’t get involved in politics.”
That’s what Diane Ravitch says about her appearance at an “education forum” in Denver next week that turns out is a fundraiser for a new 527 political organization called Friends of Education. Many sponsors withdrew their support of the event once they learned its true purpose. Some of them didn’t even know they were listed as sponsors, notified of it only by a Denver Post reporter.
“We thought it was pretty legitimate,” said Piton Foundation president and chief executive Terry Minger. “Maybe it was in the beginning and it just changed, I don’t know, but I’m disappointed.”
Education News Colorado reported that the event’s moderator, television reporter Eli Stokols, also withdrew after learning of the political fundraising.
One of the organizers of the event is the Denver Classroom Teachers Association.
“Those that we talked to, I believe, did understand this was a fundraiser for political purposes,” said Carolyn Crowder, executive director for DCTA. “It’s hard to speak for everyone when it’s a committee planning this.”
