As a follow-up to our most recent post, for those of you interested in reading more about Kane’s testimony in the Vergara v. California case, please see the following post written by John Thompson in another blog titled “Does the Gates Foundation’s Evidence Argue For or Against Vergara?”
As the title implies, Thompson connects the dots between the Gates Foundation and the others who are also part of the “Billionaires’ Boys Club” who are supporting (although not directly financing) this case. Thompson also provides a much more thorough and detailed analysis of Kane’s testimony. Do give it a read.
As an aside, I also just happened across a press release announcing then that one of the case’s current star witnesses, who was actually the first called to the stand by the plaintiffs – Los Angeles Superintendent John Deasy – also starting in 2009 served as the Gates Foundation’s Deputy Director of Education. While it does not seem that Deasy is directly affiliated with the Gates Foundation anymore, perhaps this connection had something to do with the choice location of this lawsuit in Los Angeles Unified. In all fairness, however, Deasy is “providing fodder” for both sides, including testimony for the defense about the district’s current labor laws and how firing “ineffective” teachers really “comes down to the choices and competence of management, not the constitutionality of current regulations.”