A source tells us that advocates for the defeated Blount Co. charter school are running for open school board seats. Apparently there is a developing trend of recruiting and funding local school board candidates favorable to privatizing public education by way of charter schools and vouchers.

Coincidentally, Tennessee Charter Schools Association (who guided the Blount Co. charter application and lobbied for it) has increased its annual fundraising from $75,000 to $1.2M.

Much of that is apparently from the Walton Family Foundation, which funneled $812,000 to the organization for "advocacy groups promoting public charter school choice; private school choice; district reforms, particularly open enrollment and district school choice; and cross-sector parental choice."

Here's a report on how it works. Watch the video. Very disturbing.