Bill Gates, other billionaires funding charter effort in Washington state
Bill Gates (Jeffrey MacMillan/FOR THE WASHINGTON POST)
To get an understanding of how America’s wealthiest people are using some of their fortunes to drive school reform, take a look at a list of the contributors to the pro-charter school initiative on the Washington state ballot in November. The first few pages — the ones with the biggest donations — is a who’s who of billionaires.
The money is being donated to support Initiative 1240, which, if passed, would allow public charter schools to open in the state for the first time. Washington voters have rejected the opening of public charter schools three times — in 1996, 2000 and 2004 — but supporters are nothing if not persistent.
First on the list (which starts with the biggest donations and goes down) is Microsoft
