Wednesday, Apr. 06, 2011

Billionaire's money, ideas may leave mark in Wake

Some see man as the No. 1 enemy of public schools

The fortunes of Wake County public schools in future years could rise or fall on the educational theories and donated dollars of a California billionaire who is devoting chunks of his fortune to education reform.

Los Angeles magnate and philanthropist Eli Broad, 77, made bundles in both home construction and insurance before funneling nearly $400 million since 1999 into programs designed for urban school districts.

Part of that investment went into new Wake County Schools SuperintendentTony Tata, who plans to seek millions in donations from Broad (rhymes with road) and other philanthropists while putting to use the training he received from the Broad Superintendents Academy.

It makes sense to seek support from national foundations that support education reform of the type Tata is proposing, the superintendent says. He's looking at greater use of merit pay for teachers, reorganizing the central office and developing new ways to hold schools accountable.

"We are at the starting blocks as opposed to in the race," Tata said. "You've really got to have a plan before you can go out and begin fundraising, go out with a holistic plan that will generate interest."

Supporters of Broad tout his education efforts as helping to reform historically underperforming urban school systems, creating more efficient schools focused on improving student achievement. But critics argue that he represents a dangerous trend of wealthy businessmen who know little about education using their money to get cash-strapped public schools to try out their theories without public accountability.

"They know how to cut costs," said Fenwick English, a professor at UNC-Chapel Hill's School of Education, who has labeled Broad the top enemy of public education leadership in the U.S. "But what they don't know is teaching and learning."

With a net worth of $5.8 billion, Broad, who is active in Democratic Party politics, ranks 54th on Forbes magazine's list of U.S. billionaires.

A mentoring system

Along with wife, Edythe, Eli Broad heads foundations holding assets of more than $2 billion, with a stated mission of advancing "entrepreneurship for the public good in education, science and the arts." A piece of the education effort is the superintendents academy, whose graduates run more than 40 school systems across the country.

They include retired military officers such as Tata and educators such as Charlotte-Mecklenburg Superintendent Peter Gorman.

Each Broad graduate is given continuing support, including a mentor. Gorman, Tata's mentor, said that all the academy's graduates will not go about their jobs the same way.

"There are just good leaders and managers," Gorman said. "There are people who are skeptical of Broad and what they're doing and Eli Broad in particular. But you have to accept that when you start that program."

Foundations including Broad's have provided millions of dollars to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district for school-reform efforts that have included performance pay for employees.

"You have to be careful with funding," Gorman said. "You have to find those who are committed to what you're doing."

Using money wisely

There's disagreement among education reform experts about the direction of the Broad Superintendents Academy. Critics such as English, the UNC professor, say Broad training tends to produce leaders who emphasize efficient, top-down operations over educational basics.

English, a nationally known academic expert in school curriculum audits, said wealthy benefactors such as Broad, Bill Gates and the Walton family are taking away public accountability for the education system through the involvement of their foundations. English pointed to privatization of school services and school closures as examples of Broad cost-cutting techniques.

Erica Lepping, spokeswoman for the Broad Superintendents Academy, disagreed.

"You will see efforts to make sure that central office resources are used efficiently," she said. "How to do that is up to the local leader. Merit pay is not a commonality; closing schools is not."