From the article:
Accepting the DVDs, they wrote, would place "unnecessary risk upon the [NSTA] capital campaign, especially certain targeted supporters." One of those supporters, it turns out, is the Exxon Mobil Corp.
I really don't think I'm confusing the issue. Exxon doesn't legally have any say in the school's curriculum, of course. But they know damn well that giving money will generally bring the school board onside, or at least present a disincentive to act in ways opposed to their policies. I mean come on, that's just common sense. That's why the lobby industry is so huge, and why so many ocmpanies offer hundreds of billions of dollars of campaign contributions. You don't really believe that the TSBA didn't feel pressure to not show the movie because Exxon might pull funding? That's influence, right there. That's Exxon having a say in the curriculum.
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It's just like anything else, if you go to any University many if not most of the buildings are built with private money which was donated. Those donors are spoken of with reverence and respect, even if they have a few skeletons in their closet.
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Have you been to a university lately? (I just finished a 7-year stint a few years ago) Granted we live in different countries, so it's possible things are much different in the US, but in Canada corporate donations to university are a highly controversial topic. These "donors" such as Nike, Pepsi, TD bank are not spoken of with reverence in any way, and many are opposed to stadiums and buildings being named after them.
Now in the case of PRIVATE donors, i.e. individual people or families, yes, then you hear gratitude, reverence and respect. I don't have a problem with private donors, as these come without an agenda - it's usually alumni that wish to give something back. (case in point at my alma mater, McGill, a wealthy donor approached the university to make a huge donation (something like 50 or 100 million) yet allowed the university to decide where the money would go - the result: the Schulich School of Music.)