During budget cutting season 2012, Colleen Kennedy, friend of ours and creator of Save the Upper Darby Arts, and others from the Upper Darby School district launched a massive grassroots push to save the Upper Darby arts program. The Upper Darby School District was facing a $4 million shortfall and had libraries, art, music and gym classes in its sights. Her group compiled over 20,000 petition signatures and assembled a social media campaign that got Tina Fey, Seth Green, Tom Hanks and others to tweet out messages to save the Upper Darby Arts. The campaign, with the help of State Rep Micozzie, was able to get $2.7 million to save the arts, music, library and physical education programs.
Now, Colleen has launched a pro-public education PAC, SUDA PAC, and is looking to influence Pennsylvania politics by raising money through small donations and volunteer work. In a press release, she wrote:
“Equal opportunity begins with equal access to quality education. We need lawmakers who will fight for a level playing field for all of Pennsylvania’s public school children,” SUDA founder Colleen Kennedy said. “Our country is founded on the principle of equal opportunity, and Pennsylvania students have lost their constitutional right to ‘a thorough and efficient system of public education.’ With true allies in Harrisburg, who fight ferociously and unapologetically for a restoration of $1 billion in state funding cuts, an immediate institution of a fair funding formula, and accountability measures for all schools receiving taxpayer funding, SUDA PAC can help restore faith to Pennsylvania communities.”
Her political action committee is the “first community-based Pennsylvania political action committee, made up of students, teachers, alumni and taxpayers that is devoted to equitably funding public schools through the use of a fair funding formula.” Colleen hopes to raise $20,000 for the May primary and more for the general election.
Colleen is a friend of mine and of the Raging Chicken Press and is someone who will be kicking ass in Pennsylvania for a long time. This is something progressives should get behind because small dollar donations can help change a primary and get better Democrats in Harrisburg.
I presume she is opposed to charters and cyber charters– which are draining our public schools of nearly $1 Billion (yes, with a B). One reason I like John Hanger is that he will not fund failing charters (71% are failing the AYP “test”), nor will he fund the failing cyber charters (nearly 100% are in failure mode). If her PAC is strictly for our neighborhood public schools, count me in! Charters are quite simply one of the tools in the privatizers’ toolboxes.
Colleen is a huge public schools advocate.