Charter school supporters spend $6 for each signature in record initiative drive
Jul 12, 2012, 6:05 AM | Updated: 7:23 am
Supporters of a charter schools initiative turn in petitions at the Secretary of State's office in Olympia (AP Photo/File)
(AP Photo/File)
When supporters of charter schools in Washington turned in
more than 350,000 signatures last week to get a measure
on the ballot, they raised a lot of eyebrows by
accomplishing the feat in under three weeks.
Now, we know how they did it.
According to the Washington State Public Disclosure
Commission, the Washington Coalition for Charter Schools
spent nearly $2.1 million, approximately $6 for every
signature.
But supporter Shannon Campion with Washington Stand for
Children is unapologetic.
“We just simply did what it took to get initiative 1240
qualified. And it was a combination of paid and volunteer
signature gathering,” Campion says. “The real story here is
the level of support from Washington voters; just a strong
outpouring and eagerness to support the petition.”
Washington voters have rejected charter schools three times
in the last 16 years.
