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Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Well-funded charter-school initiative has nearly enough signatures to make ballot | Local News | The Seattle Times

Well-funded charter-school initiative has nearly enough signatures to make ballot | Local News | The Seattle Times:


Well-funded charter-school initiative has nearly enough signatures to make ballot

Supporters of allowing charter schools in Washington state have raised nearly $2 million from a handful of high-profile donors and say they are poised to submit the needed 241,153 valid signatures by the Friday deadline.

Seattle Times education reporter
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Sponsors of an initiative to allow charter schools in Washington say they have almost enough signatures to qualify for the ballot — a speedy effort aided by nearly $2 million in donations from a handful of high-profile supporters.
Shannon Campion, a spokeswoman for the initiative, said sponsors plan to submit more than the required 241,153 valid signatures by the Friday deadline, completing the well-funded signature scramble.
Bill Gates has personally donated more than $1 million to the initiative, while fellow Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has kicked in $100,000. Mike and Jackie Bezos, parents of Amazon executive Jeff Bezos, have contributed $450,000.
The money has helped pay professional signature-gatherers who have worked outside grocery stores, farmers markets and community