Billionaire Eli Broad has suspended his foundation’s $1 million annual award to honor the best urban school systems, out of concern that school districts are not improving quickly enough.

The action underscores the evolving thinking and impatience of the 81-year-old philanthropist, a staunch opponent of teachers unions and one of the biggest donors to the corporate education reform movement.

New York City was honored in 2007, just as Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a Broad ally, was seeking a third term.

Some observers wonder whether Broad’s expectations for urban systems have been realistic. “Urban schools are faced with huge challenges, some of which are simply related to concentrated poverty, and so many kids are coming to school with unmet needs,” said Pedro Noguera, a professor of education at New York University. All the same, Noguera said, the prize “gave urban districts something to strive for, something to learn from. They need that. I saw districts that were working real hard to get it.”

At least one critic, California Federation of Teachers President Joshua Pechthalt, welcomed the change. “The further he [Eli Broad] and his foundation stay away from public education, the better. Eli Broad’s track record on public education has been shameful,” he said.

The foundation recently established a $250,000 annual prize for charter schools, an award that will continue.

Education Week, Feb. 13
Los Angeles Times, Feb. 8