Voters in Washington state will have a chance to direct public funds toward private bank accounts if they adopt an initiative to create charter schools this November. Who are the bajillionaires behind the campaign?

The 40 schools proposed by Initiative 1240 would be funded with taxpayer money but privately run, and would serve less than 1 percent of Washington students. They would also be unaccountable to voters.

What appears to be the only comprehensive study ever conducted on the overall efficacy of charter schools, published in June 2009, concluded that 17 percent of charter school students performed on standardized tests better than students enrolled in public schools. Forty-six percent did no better and 37 percent did worse.

Dick Conoboy at Northwest Citizen points out that a 17 percent success rate is nothing to scream about. So why the big push for charter education? Well, there’s money to be made. See who stands to gain below.

— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.