School reform free-for-all has the cash flying
- Article by: ERIC WIEFFERING , Star Tribune
- Updated: March 10, 2012 - 2:51 PM
Education reform has all the hallmarks of a parent-led, grass-roots movement to fix failing public schools.
But it's become a big business, too. Nonprofits and interests from both ends of the political spectrum are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into reform initiatives, and hundreds of companies -- for profit and nonprofit alike -- are scrambling for a share of the hundreds of billions spent annually educating students in kindergarten through grade 12.
The Walton Family Foundation, named after Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, gave more than $159 million to education reform initiatives in 2011. The New York Times reported that Microsoft founder Bill Gates' foundation spent more than $370 million on education reform efforts in 2009, and expects to spend an additional $3 billion over the coming five or six years.
In Minnesota, money from those foundations and others helped win passage of alternative teacher certification measures and statewide