Attention, Hoosier voters!

Learning Curve

It's easy to see why Indiana Gov. Mike Pence is so eager to embrace the pro-privatization forces working to dismantle public education. They spend lots of money, after all, electing politicians to support their mission.Today 5:42 pm

ALEC's star performer

ALEC, the corporate-controlled legislative group promoting a systemic destruction of public education, has released its annual report card. Indiana, ALEC's poster child for destructive reform, earns a B+ on the dubious roll and ranks it first in the May 9, 2013

Bad news for voucher supporters

A different state, a different decision. Louisiana's Supreme Court has ruled the funding mechanism for the school voucher program violates theMay 7, 2013

Alice Walton, an heir to the Wal-Mart fortune, is Tony Bennett's best friend, if campaign contributions are any indication. Walton, No. 17 on the Forbes billionaire list, just made a $200,000 contribution to Bennett's re-election campaign.

While she lives in Bentonville, Ark., Walton has a history of bankrolling education-related politics here in Indiana. She's given almost $1.7 million to the Terre Haute-based American Federation for Children Action Fund over the past two years. That group, in turn, gives much of its money to Hoosiers for Economic Growth, which supports Republican candidates supporting anti-union education measures.

Wal-Mart, of course, has a long history battling organized labor.

So, if you're wondering why billionaire Alice Walton has an interest in Indiana schoolkids – well, it's not so much the kids as who might some day try to organize them.