Tainted Money For D.C. Schools

By Colbert I. King
Saturday, June 28, 2008; A15

What to think about the nonprofit D.C. Public Education Fund created by Mayor Adrian Fenty? It is supposed to have a good purpose: raising funds in the private sector to help the public schools with their operating budgets.

Fenty is said to be following the lead of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who tapped well-heeled New Yorkers for money for schools after he was elected.

But is Fenty going about it the right way?

Should he, for example, solicit money for his private D.C. Public Education Fund from an organization that the District government is suing?

Here's something else to think about:

Should the mayor accept money for his fund from a foreign government that recognizes and supports an Islamic charity that the United States has accused of using humanitarian aid as a cover to bankroll al-Qaeda and al-Qaeda affiliates? A foreign government that tolerates forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation of female foreign domestic workers?

Why do I raise these questions?

In the same week in which the D.C. government filed a highly publicized lawsuit against CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, accusing the region's largest health insurance provider of hoarding surpluses instead of donating some of the money to the community, the mayor awarded CareFirst a coveted "Platinum Sponsor" status for contributing $100,000 to the D.C. Public Education Fund.

Say what? 'Tis true.

This week, Fenty's interim attorney general, Peter J. Nickles, charged in a lawsuit that CareFirst is failing to pursue its charitable mission of public health care. The lawsuit seeks "court-supervised rehabilitation" of CareFirst to reshape the organization and force it to donate millions of dollars to the District.

At the same time, the mayor is giving CareFirst an "attaboy" for delivering 100 grand to his favorite nonprofit. What's up with that?

If CareFirst is not fulfilling its charitable public-health mission -- a charge by the District that CareFirst firmly rejects -- then why is the mayor seeking and accepting CareFirst money for a purpose that has nothing to do with public health?

As you ponder that question, let's turn to the government of Kuwait.

Fenty's fund pocketed $50,000 from that oil-rich Persian Gulf country, courtesy of its embassy here in Washington.

I've been to Kuwait and know a little something about its history and government. I never knew Kuwait had a deep and abiding interest in the academic advancement of children in the District of Columbia.

So I asked Sara Lasner, executive director of the D.C. Fund for Public Education and a former Fenty aide, how the large donation came about. Lasner wrote in an e-mail: "The Ambassador of the State of Kuwait and his wife know Mayor Fenty and asked how they could help."

Apparently, the mayor hit Kuwait up for some money.

However, about the time that Kuwaiti money was making its way into the mayor's fund, the Treasury Department was designating and freezing the assets of the Kuwait-based Revival of Islamic Heritage Society for its ties to funding terrorism.

The Treasury decision, of course, didn't sit well with Kuwaiti officials. The country's Council of Ministers, chaired by the prime minister, issued a statement defending the charity and charging that the Treasury Department's actions were based on "false" information. Jassem al-Kharafi, speaker of Kuwait's parliament, accused the United States of disrespecting Kuwait's sovereignty and its charities.

Nonetheless, Treasury maintains that it has the goods on the Revival of Islamic Heritage Society and its operations in Kuwait.

Speaking of revival, there is something of an Islamic awakening taking place inside Kuwait.

Recently, Islamist candidates gained a majority in Kuwait's National Assembly. They are among the group of conservative members of parliament who, according to news accounts, would like to ban the observance of Christmas, outlaw Xboxes and bar women from driving.

Last month, 27 female candidates sought seats in parliament. All lost. Two women, however, were appointed to senior government posts. But when they appeared to take the oath of office, several Islamist members of parliament walked out in protest.

By the way, would that Kuwait were as solicitous of foreigners working there as it is of schoolchildren in the District.

A 2008 U.S. Embassy report describes that country, a constitutional monarchy, as a destination and transit center for men and women for forced labor and sexual exploitation.

The report accuses the government of Kuwait of not complying with even the minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking and of "not making significant efforts to do so."

So why is the D.C. public school system being funded with that source of overseas money? Or with money wrung out of organizations doing business in the city?

And why does the mayor need a private slush fund for public schools, anyway? Public schools are the public's business -- and responsibility. Or at least they should be. Certainly not that of Kuwait or CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield.

kingc@washpost.com