Another mysterious ed reform group emerges

Education advocacy groups that are fuzzy about their origins and funding seem to be trending in North Carolina.

Colvil

Yesterday reporters in Charlotte and Raleigh got a round of calls about BestSchoolsNC,  "a new movement with one ambitious goal:  Make N.C. schools the best in America."  The group has hired New Hanover school board member Tammy Colvil as executive director and debuted with some interesting polling on public views on teacher pay. Colvil describes the organization as a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization focusing on common-sense solutions.

You won't find specifics about funding or founders on the web site.  Matthew Faraci of Fusion Strategies,  a Raleigh PR firm,  said backers want to remain anonymous because "they don't want to get hit up for donations."

If this sounds familiar,  it may be because I wrote last month about Aim Higher NC,  an equally vague group petitioning state lawmakers for higher teacher pay.  In that case,  the PR person pushing the cause,  who is affiliated with the Democratic party and labor,  said funders feared being targeted for retribution.  And October's  "Thanks to a teacher"  campaign had an anonymous approach, too,  though I tracked down N.C. Board of Education member John Tate as an organizer.

Faraci

Faraci,  after some prodding,  said he has "a Republican background."  His company's web site doesn't mention any party alliance but does seem political:   "We have more than 75 campaigns under our collective belts, working with candidates and causes at the local, state, and national levels. We’ve worked with multiple presidential, gubernatorial, senatorial, and congressional efforts as well as scores of issue advocacy organizations, political committees, associations and major corporations."

BestSchoolsNC's  "rules of thumb,"  the only guide to the group's vision,  are as broad and hard to argue with as the quest for great schools:  Strong teachers,  high standards,  empowered parents and  "smart,  commonsense public policies."  The only one that hints at an angle that anyone could take issue with is  "choice, competition and accountability,"  which some view as buzzwords for privatization.

Colvil cited her involvement as the mother of four public school students and says she's interested in working with people regardless of political persuasion.  "We're just focused on starting the conversation,"  she said.  She did mention that BestSchoolsNC is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit  --  the kind that can lobby for legislation and engage in political campaigns.  So I'm guessing that conversation may get less bland before long.