Five things you should know about Kyle Olson and the Education Action Group Foundation (EAG):
- They are anti-public schools and public school teachers.
- They parade as a school reform group in order to play the press with its anti-union message.
- The Education Action Group Foundation is not a new group: it is a repackaged version of several existing groups that have led voucher campaigns — roundly rejected by Michigan voters — to divert tax dollars from our public schools to private and religious schools.
- They claim to be nonpartisan, but their founders are Michigan Republican Party operatives. EAG’s claim to be nonpartisan is patently untrue.
- They demonize those who support the elected officials they oppose while refusing to disclose who is funding their anti-union campaign.
1. They are anti-public schools, teachers and other public employees
On its Web site the Education Action Group claims “teachers are to be commended.” But in stories and columns published in newspapers across the country, EAG CEO Kyle Olson attacks public school teachers and other school employees. He advocates privatization of local school employees, demonizes union representatives for supporting their members, advocates for the end to collective bargaining and vilifies school employees for voting and participating in democracy.
Olson expressed his opinion in a column in The Detroit News ( “Counter union influence on school boards,” Detroit News, Nov. 9, 2007) implying school employees have no right to be involved in local elections. To justify his anti-democracy position, Olson makes an inventive distinction between Michigan taxpayers and Michigan school employees. For reasons that can only be explained as anti-teacher, he ignores the obvious: that Michigan school employees are taxpayers, with the same concerns about the value and quality of public education and government as other citizens. School employees have children that attend these same schools and share the c0ncerns 0f all parents for the welfare of their children.
Every Michigan voter should be well-informed about candidates and issues. Efforts by school employees to educate their communities about school board elections should be applauded, not condemned. Olson and the EAG have the right to endorse candidates who believe that cutting school employee pay and benefits is the path to educational excellence. And school employees have the right to believe differently — and a right to show it by electing supporters of public schools.
2. They parade as a school reform group in order to play the press.
The Education Action Group Foundation claims to be a group of citizens and school board leaders who are public school advocates. A closer look reveals a broad range of far-right-wing political connections and a decidedly anti-public schools agenda.
EAG incorporator Eric Doster and Vice President Kyle Olson have ties to anti-public-education groups including the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and the Great Lakes Education Project Political Action Committee. These groups have devoted years of effort and extensive financial resources supporting issues and candidates who favor private school vouchers, privatization of public school employees, and the end to unions representing working people.
None of EAG’s employees have any teaching experience except for writer Ben Velderman, who didn’t survive his probationary period, teaching only 2 years in Zeeland, Michigan. Nevertheless, they present themselves as education experts, managing to recommend any solution to perceived problems so long as it includes blaming unions.
3. The Education Action Group Foundation is not a new group: it is a repackaged version of several existing groups that have led voucher campaigns — roundly rejected by Michigan voters — to divert tax dollars from our public schools to private and religious schools.
In 2000, a group called Kids First Yes! pushed a pro-”parochiaid” statewide ballot question that would have legalized taxpayer vouchers for use in private schools. The campaign was led and funded by 2006 GOP gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos and his family, which contributed millions of dollars to the campaign.
Three organizations — the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, the Michigan Family Forum, and the Teach Michigan Education Fund — have supported vouchers for many years. These organizations all receive substantial funding from the DeVos family.
After Michigan voters dealt a landslide defeat to the 2000 ballot initiative, the DeVos family formed the Great Lakes Education Project PAC to support political candidates willing to keep the movement alive. Eric Doster, incorporator of the Education Action Group, sat on the advisory board of the Great Lakes Education Project and his home address is listed as GLEP PAC’s treasurer.
The Great Lakes Education Project PAC continues to pay Sage Consultants L.L.C. for “professional services.” Sage Consultants lists Doster’s home as its primary address on campaign reporting documents.
Doster and his family members also made campaign contributions to the DeVos for Governor campaign in 2006. The EAG connection to those involved in Michigan’s voucher movement is undeniable.
4. They claim to be nonpartisan, but their founders are Michigan Republican Party operatives.
The Education Action Group Foundation appears to be a front group for the Michigan Republican Party and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. It is tied with groups that seek to expand the use of publicly-funded vouchers for private and religious schools. A closer look reveals broad GOP connections:
Eric Doster, EAG incorporator
Eric Doster, a Lansing lawyer, has been General Counsel to the Michigan Republican Party for 15 years. Doster served on the advisory board for the Great Lakes Education Project (GLEP) and his home address is listed as that of the group’s treasurer. GLEP is a Republican group that advocates vouchers and charter schools.
Doster represented U. S. Rep. Tim Walberg in his recall fight, represented Citizens for the Protection of Marriage in 2004, and was appointed to the Judges’ Retirement Board in 1996 by former Governor John Engler. He is a member of the ultra-conservative Federalist Society. He has also made personal campaign contributions to a number of Republican political candidates.
Kyle Olson, Education Action Group Foundation Founder and CEO
Kyle Olson, a former Lansing lobbyist, was district director and campaign manager for Republican Gerald Van Woerkom’s campaign for state Senate in 2002. He is also a member of the Republican State Committee. In September 2007, he joined other prominent Michigan Republican activists at a Grand Rapids airport during a visit with Vice President Dick Cheney.
Olson’s brother Ryan was the Director of Education Policy for the conservative Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
5. They demonize those who support elected officials (and who report their contributions publicly as required by law) while refusing to disclose who is funding their anti-union campaign.
The Education Action Group Foundation refuses to disclose the group’s funding sources. While any group has a right to participate in the public debate, EAG’s total lack of transparency is hypocritical in light of the organization’s ongoing attacks on public school employees and others. Under the heading “Thug Watch,” EAG’s original web site listed teacher contributions to school board candidates — implying that school employees shouldn’t be active in elections.
EAG’s Articles of Incorporation give only vague details of the organization’s funding sources: “The corporation is to be financed under the following general plan: Contributions from corporate foundations and private foundations.”
But while the public knows little about the source of EAG’s funding, EAG goes to extraordinary lengths to know as much as possible about the individuals who send them donations. EAG uses the Aristotle Campaign Contribution Web site for contributions. It is designed for political campaigns. Other than processing the money, it:
“…is the only company with the ability to screen the name of each contributor against a proprietary database of government records to check that the contributor is a US Voter. This service is provided to registered political organizations.
“From the registered voter file, we’ll also tell you the date-of-birth, congressional and legislative district of the contributor, his or her party affiliation and vote history as maintained by the county or state board of elections. You’ll know more about your contributors and be better able to target solicitations to new prospects with similar demographics.”
Source: www.campaigncontribution.com, FAQ
The Education Action Group Foundation clearly knows much about its contributors. It also attacks poeple who make publicly-reported contributions to mainstream political candidates. The name-calling and demonization is classic Karl Rove strategy. The real question is what is EAG trying to hide?
This is solid information that reveals this group and Kyle Olsen for what and who they truly are. Public education is the bedrock of our democracy. We need to end these attacks on one of our most important institutions.