Republican Party Says Donations To Bennett Legitimate Contributions From Reform Minded Companies

Ben Skirvin

Bennett says a number of companies were evaluated by IDOE official prior to making a decision

Officials released this statement in response to yesterday’s report, which revealed Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett had received donations from two companies who stand to benefit from plans to take over four Indianapolis schools.

“It’s not surprising two groups committed to education reform throughout the country have in the past supported one of the nation’s most prominent education reformers. I’d be surprised if they didn’t.”

During his most recent campaign, Bennett accepted two thousand dollars from Edison Learning, the company hired to take over Theodore Roosevelt Career and Technical Academy in Gary.  He also received one thousand from Wireless Generation, a Rupert Murdoch owned subsidiary of NewsCorp selected to provide support to George Washington Community High School.