Why does CRAFT, a Harvard based organization, become involved in referendum issues in other school districts?
As long as the State provides funding to schools, every Illinois resident is entitled to demand fiscal responsibility of Illinois’ public schools. Its interesting to note that the NEA and AFT are national unions, based out-of-state, that have no aversion to interfering in the affairs of our school districts. But this is hardly relevant. Education is an important topic. Ideas should be discussed based on their merits, not on who said them. The continual insistence of referendum promoters on attacking ideas because “outsiders” made them reveals that they have little else with which to challenge our school reform concepts. The Harvard CRAFT group does not direct the actions of CRAFT affiliates in other districts. We provide assistance and information wherever possible, but local citizens decide whether to oppose referenda and how to go about doing it.
