Billionaires, Ballots and a State Budget Crisis Drive Education Reform in Washington State: A Case Study
"Up until November 6th, Washington was one of eight states that did not have a charter school within its borders, and by all accounts it didn't seem like that was going to change anytime soon. Voters had rejected charter initiatives three times - in 1996, 2000 and 2004.
But that was before millionaire donors like Bill Gates, Paul Allen and Alice Walton of Walmart fame poured millions of dollars into Ballot Initiative 1240, opening the state up to charter schools for the first time."
