A Good Value?: National Education Association Spends $13 Million on Assorted Advocacy Groups

Member of a local teachers union in Colorado? Then most likely (unless you belong to the AFT) $166 of your dues this year is going straight to National Education Association headquarters in Washington, D.C. What is some of your money used for — when not funding negative political ads during election season, that is?

As he faithfully does every year, the Education Intelligence Agency’s Mike Antonucci hones in on NEA’s reported contributions, noting that in fiscal year 2009-10 it represents “more than $13 million to a wide variety of advocacy groups and charities to advocacy groups.” While Antonucci offers up the full list of 130 organizations, here’s a small alphabetically-sorted sample:

  • AFL-CIO ($150,000)
  • Baptist Center for Ethics ($20,000)
  • Colorado Deserves Better ($50,000) …but was this in teachers’ best interests?
  • Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate ($200,000)
  • Gay and Lesbian Leadership Institute ($10,000)
  • HOPE: Yes on SQ 44 ($1,758,000) — Oklahoma ballot initiative… was this a great idea or what?
  • MediaMatters ($100,000)
  • National Council of La Raza ($26,500)
  • People for the American Way ($64,538)
  • Rainbow PUSH Coalition ($5,000)

For more on how NEA and AFT spends Colorado members’ money, and to find the data yourself, check out our handy link.