UPDATE: Link to old Bush donor list that included Pearson Foundation here.
This blog has made lots of hay over the fact that Pearson was one of the financiers of Jeb Bush’s Foundation for Excellence in Education. An October 9, 2011 post titled The Corporate Cash Which Fuels Jeb Bush’s Empire remains one of the most viewed posts on the blog. For some reason, Pearson is no longer recognized as a donor on the website.
How come?
This is a recent change. Perhaps it’s because Pearson and its big Florida contract for FCAT and high school end-of-course exams have become toxic. When asked about criticism, Bush told StateImpact reporter John O’Connor in May he ”really doesn’t care.” Apparently he cares about which corporations he’s closely associated with.
Bush’s foundation has essentially been serving as a rainmaker for Pearson in lobbying for test-based legislation across the nation. They’ll receive close to $1 billion of taxpayer money from just two states-Florida and Texas. Removing them from his website is intentionally deceptive and a transparent attempt to maintain his image.
