funders

Funding for the Washington State Leadership Academy comes from three sources: public and private funding, and district participation fees.

Public funding from the Washington State Legislature was granted for two years, covering the planning and pilot phase of the Leadership Academy. This funding was contingent upon the managing partners securing private funding as well.

Private funding was obtained through a grant from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in July 2007. This funding is, in turn, contingent upon sustained public funding.

District fees are assessed through the participating Education Service Districts (ESDs) and may be offset by scholarship assistance or Leadership Academy support cases of extreme hardship. During the pilot phase, the Leadership Academy will cover most of the start-up costs for developing, evaluating and delivering the program. For the pilot year, each district was asked to contribute $5,000, which amounts to about 7% of the operating costs for the year.