Did a teachers union pay for a report slamming charter schools?

[Geee]

Watchdog.org:

The Center for Media and Democracy’s new report “Charter School Black Hole” doesn’t contain any meaningful information about how charter schools operate, but it does raise one interesting question.

 

Did a national teachers union pay CMD $30,000 to produce the report?

 

CMD describes its report, which skews facts and omits much needed context to paint charter schools as money-wasters lacking in oversight, as the result of a “year-long investigation.”

 

The American Federation of Teachers, which has consistently opposed the charter school movement, paid CMD $30,000 on Oct. 24, 2014.

 

CMD published its report on Oct. 21, 2015.

 

According to a financial disclosure report AFT filed with the U.S. Department of Labor, the union paid CMD for “member related services.” The disclosure report doesn’t offer any explanation of what those services were.