REAL INFLUENCE: In the latest saga involving for-profits and public expenditures, Maine's Portland Press Herald follows the money and lobbying trail behind recent efforts to introduce virtual public schools in the state. We learn that Maine education officials sought advice from organizations like the Foundation for Excellent in Education and American Legislative Exchange Council, funded in part by companies like K12 and Connections Academy that stand to profit from offering online schooling services. A researcher at Boulder, CO-based National Education Policy Center (which has called out K12 in the past), calls it "the ideal form of crony capitalism." There's quite a few moving pieces here; fortunately the article provides a handy infographic to help readers keep track.
