​Welcome to Binge Thinking. We invite professors and experts to give lectures in bars around Boston, NYC, and DC!

​In a world of AI slop, doomscrolling and brainrot, Binge Thinking brings real experts into real places for nights of learning, conversation, and community.

​Think Responsibly.

​Join us and grab a drink as we expose who really pays for your school. Spoiler: it’s not who you think...

​TOPIC:
$chooled: The Shocking Truth About How Schools Are Funded, How School Finance Works and How to Fix It

SPEAKER:
Dr. David Backer, Seton Hall University

​Lea DiRusso taught elementary school in Philadelphia for 30 years. The building she gave her career to had exposed asbestos, and it eventually cost her life to mesothelioma. Her story sparked activism, and one burning question for a philosopher: who actually pays for school buildings, and why are so many of them falling apart?

​The answer is a messy web of property taxes, state formulas, district lines, and something called school bonds (yes, Norman Rockwell literally painted one). It’s the reason two schools a few miles apart can feel like they’re in different worlds.

​In this talk, Dr. Backer breaks down school finance in plain English through real stories from the world of schools and money, then pitches some bold ideas for fixing it.

​Topics include:

​How a teacher’s death in Philly turned a philosopher into a school finance detective

​The surprising school bond story behind Norman Rockwell’s famous “standing up guy” painting, and what bonds even are

​How property taxes, state funding, and barely any federal dollars decide who gets what

​How district boundaries and racism shape school budgets, with stories from Ohio and Pennsylvania

​What his bond research reveals about the Philly question

​Ideas for collectivizing and improving how we fund our schools

​Beyond the spreadsheets, this is a story about who our schools are really built for.

​Money talk can feel boring until you realize it decides whether kids learn in safe buildings. This talk makes the most confusing part of public education finally make sense.

​About the Speaker

​Dr. David I. Backer is an Associate Professor of Education Policy in the Department of Educational Leadership, Management, and Policy at Seton Hall University. He earned his BA in Philosophy (concentration in mathematics and logic, minor in biological anthropology) magna cum laude from George Washington University, his MS in Interdisciplinary Studies/Education from SUNY Buffalo, and both his MPhil in Social and Political Philosophy (with distinguished honors) and PhD in Philosophy and Education from Columbia University, Teachers College.

​His research focuses on school finance and ideology: how the money for schools works, and how different political tendencies fight over it. Before Seton Hall, he taught at West Chester University in Pennsylvania and Cleveland State University. Online, he’s built an unlikely following on TikTok as @schooldaves, where he takes requests to break down school district budget crises from a left/socialist perspective. He also helped on Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s campaign, including its green healthy schools platform, and is the author of a recent book and host of a new podcast on school finance.

​Agenda

​7:00 PM - Doors Open (Grab a seat and drinks!)
7:30 PM - Lecture Begins
8:10 PM - Audience Q&A
8:30 PM - Drinks & Conversation
9:00 PM - Event Ends