A victory for public schools.

• Author: Pelto, Jonathan

THIS IS THE REAL-LIFE TRUE story of how a small band of public education advocates, with the help of parents and teachers, pushed back against the corporate campaign to take over our public schools.

The story is set in Bridgeport, Connecticut. With 144,000 residents, Bridgeport is a small city, as cities go, but it is the most populous community in the state. It is also an island of extraordinary poverty in a sea of wealth. Connecticut is one of the wealthiest states in the country. If it were a nation, it would be one of the richest countries on Earth. While Bridgeport's per capita income is less than $20,000 per year, nearby Easton's per capita income is in excess of $92,000. Most of surrounding Fairfield County's other towns share similar demographics. Bridgeport is surrounded by some of the wealthiest communities in the nation.

While Connecticut's non-minority, suburban students have some of the highest standardized test scores in the nation, Bridgeport's students face many challenges that lead to lower scores.

A total of 92 percent of Bridgeport's students are minorities, and 99 percent of all students qualify for free or reduced lunches. More than 40 percent of the district's students come from homes where English is not the primary language, and nearly one in six students lacks English language skills. In Bridgeport, students come from homes that speak seventy-two different languages. Approximately 12 percent of all city students require extra special education services.

Despite the extraordinary poverty, language barriers, and special education needs, Bridgeport spends far less per student than its wealthier neighboring towns. Many communities with little or no poverty and no language barriers spend 30 percent or more per child than Bridgeport.

Rather than address the historic underfunding of its schools, Bridgeport's elected representatives, with the help of Connecticut's state officials, turned to the education "reform" industry for salvation.

Like vultures, education reform leaders have targeted America's poorest cities, claiming that their initiatives can ensure massive educational improvements without spending significantly more funds.

In what proved to be an illegal move, the Democratic-controlled Bridgeport Board of Education, in conjunction with Democratic Governor Dannel Malloy's administration, conspired to have the state "take over" the Bridgeport public school system in July of 2011.

The four members of the Bridgeport...