Buying Indy Mayor Ballard: School Privatizing Update

by Doug Martin

Back in the summer of 2012, when the mayor of Indianapolis, Greg Ballard, was closing The Project School because it was the only charter school in the city not playing the game set up by the Indiana Corporate School Complex, I wrote about the various school privatizers funneling money into Ballard’s campaign, which included Walmart and Betsy DeVos front man Fred Klipsch, Mind Trust cronies, and others.  Since then, the mayor’s office has refused to turn over emails to me concerning the closing of The Project School, stating they were not specific enough, which is nonsense.  In order to be more specific, I would need a specific date, specific name, and specific email title, which, of course, I don’t have.

Anyway, the school privatizers gifted Ballard again in 2012. The records for those running for Indy mayor are way outdated, so the 2013 records have not been posted.  The following Ballard campaign funders are either profiting handsomely from the corporate school movement in Indianapolis or across the country or have been activity promoting it. Many of these groups and people are detailed in my upcoming book Hoosier School Heist:

Eli Lilly: $5,000 (see page 3 in PDF)*

Faegre Baker Daniels: $2,500 (page 3)

Bart Peterson buddy and school privatizer Garcia Constructions and its owner Charles Garcia: $2,500 (page 4)

Bush/DeVos/Walton family friend and charter school owner J.C. Huizenga $1,000 (page 4)

Indianapolis Power and Light Company: $4,000 (page 4)

JP Morgan Chase: $2,000 (page 5)

Tindley charter school founding board member and Faegre Baker Daniels partner John Neighbours: $2,000 (page 6)

Shrewsberry and Associates, ran by (at one time or another) Mind Trust board member, Christian Hanover College trustee, and Indiana Charter School Board member Bill Shrewsberry: $1,000 (page 7)

And Bart Peterson/Al Gore III buddy and charter school/gentrification leader Darrell Zink:  $2,500 (page 8)

That is a lot of money, my friends, and I am sure if I dug long enough, I could trace other Ballard funders to the school privatizing movement.  Bur hey, the corporate well is mighty deep, and I'm still snowed in.

* You can find the PDF with Ballard’s 2012 funding here.