Charter school advocates have raised at least $2.3 million to push an amendment to the state constitution, 99 percent of it from millionaires, corporations and out-of-state advocacy groups.
Jim Walls, a former Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigative reporter and editor who runs the blog Atlanta Unfiltered, looked at pro-charter school amendment groups’ most recent campaign finance disclosures filed with the state.
He found that the one group, Families for Better Public Schools, has spent $1.3 million in October alone. Its contributors include Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton, who donated $350,000 this month in addition to $250,000 she’d already kicked in.
In addition, libertarian billionaires and charter school supporters Charles and David Koch (owners of Georgia Pacific, among other companies) gave $92,000 to Republican candidates for the state legislature. Republicans provided most of the votes to put the amendment on the November ballot.
Just $30,615 of the pro-amendment forces’ money came from Georgians, not counting multimillionaires Peter Gaby, Bernie Marcus and Tom Cousins.
Anti-amendment forces have raised most of their cash in-state, much of it from educators.
Amendment 1 would set up a commission appointed by the governor and legislative leaders with the power to approve new charter schools, even though local school boards and the state Department of Education can already create them. Critics fear it would lead to a two-tiered education system, with tax-funded de facto private schools draining funds from traditional public schools. Supporters say the amendment is needed because some local districts are reluctant to approve even the highest-quality proposals for charter schools.
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