Charters 'thank' Klein with cash for school votes

State Sen. Jeff Klein has received more campaign contributions from pro-charter school and pro-school privatization groups than any other incumbent state legislator, Common Cause recently found. The good government group said the donations have influenced him to vote in favor of charter schools as a battle between those institutions and teachers unions rages in Albany.

For instance, Mr. Klein was one of only two Democrats to vote in favor of a March 2011 bill that ruled out seniority as the key criteria teacher for layoffs in New York — a measure strongly opposed by teacher unions. Common Cause noted that shortly after the vote, Mr. Klein’s campaign committee received a $5,000 donation from Education Reform Now PAC, an advocacy group endorsing the principles of charter school education.

“Charter schools are no longer an experiment. Charter schools are the cure,” Mr. Klein said during a pro-charter school rally in Albany in March, according to a news article cited by Common Cause.

The group found that between 2005 and 2014, the senator received $293,875 in contributions from several pro-privatization or charter school organizations. Mr. Klein, whose 34th district includes the northwest Bronx, did not answer an interview request for this article.

“We are seeing the very direct influence of the exponential increase in privatizer political spending in the policies and legislation that are being introduced and backed by some prominent elected officials,” Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause, said in a phone interview.

Mr. Klein, one of the most prolific fundraisers in the state, received far more contributions from pro-charter school and pro-privatization groups than any other incumbent state lawmaker. Common Cause defined pro-privatization organizations as “PACs and coalitions whose central mission is “education reform,’” particularly those backing alternatives to traditional public education.