The issue of private money funding American public education is a relatively new one, complete with debates on whether such donations help schools or promote agendas that might not always be beneficial.

Entrepreneurial philanthropists in the state of Washington are not only giving large gifts to public schools, but are doing so with hands-on attitudes that help guide how their money is being spent, the Seattle Times reports.

"I think everybody is still sort of at the stunned stage. We’re at the beginning of what will be a huge philanthropic groundswell," said Anne Farrell, president and chief executive of The Seattle Foundation.

The seeds of this groundswell were germinated in 1993, when philanthropist Walter Annenberg gave $500 million to improve 18 urban school systems around the nation. Annenberg’s gift was touted as a response to the problems cited in the 1983 "A Nation at Risk" report, which detailed a crisis in public education.

Since the Annenberg gift, public education -- especially those efforts that help K-12 programs -- have benefited from an unprecedented amount of private gifts, the Times reports.

Last year, Americans donated a total of $27.5 billion to public education, according to the American Association of Fundraising Counsel.

Donations to Seattle’s Alliance for Education -- just one of the groups promoting education there -- have increased from $600,000 in 1995 to $11 million last year, and individual gifts now comprise more than half of the alliance’s contributions.

High tech gurus Bill Gates, Paul Allen, and others are examples of philanthropists driven by specific agendas that often involve public policy. Allen contributed $2.7 million to a failed state ballot initiative on charter schools. Gates is using 10 Washington school districts as laboratories for school reform.

Altogether, the Gateses have contributed $350 million to U.S. schools, to boost academic performance through smaller schools and increased technology. The gift is believed to be second only to Annenberg’s, with more than one-third of that money going to Washington schools, the Times reports.

According to an independent review by the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, however, the ambitious Annenberg project was largely ineffectual.

Critics of these current philanthropic efforts say donors will have too much control over public systems, and that gifts can heighten inequities between schools. Also, many private donors usually don’t want their money going for teacher pay or basic support of the schools, the Times reports.

These issues aside, many philanthropists in Washington are seeing the fruit of their efforts, and are discussing whether these school reforms can serve as examples to the rest of the nation. One example is Seattle’s Social Venture Partners, an organization with 265 members who donate at least $5,000 a year each.

Two examples of what the organization has already done for area schools are the Aki Kurose middle school and Sacajawea elementary school in Seattle. At Aki Kurose, students who are suspended go to a special class where counselors help them find the cause behind their behavior. A hands-on math program funded by SVP at the Sacajawea schools has been credited with raising test scores.

Microsoft retiree Philip Welt and his wife, Norma Crampton, adopted a program at Seattle’s Nathan Hale High School through SVP. They provide significant funding for the Academy program, which keeps freshmen and sophomores in small groups that stay with the same teachers for two years.

This program has significantly improved student grades, test scores, dropout rates and reduced disciplinary problems. Eric Benson, principal at Nathan Hale, told the Times that Academy couldn't exist without private funding, which is proving its worth.

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