Businessman pledges $4.6 million to fund private school scholarships
A Bozeman businessman has pledged $4.6 million so that Montana children from poor and moderate-income families can attend private schools.
The scholarship porgram will be run by a Denver-based nonprofit organization called Alliance for Choice in Education.
The group advocates for expanding education choices beyond public schools.
The Gianforte Family Foundation made the four-year pledge to bring the ACE Scholarships program to Montana.
Greg Gianforte is the founder of the software company RightNow Technologies. Oracle bought RightNow for the $1.5 billion last year.
ACE Scholarships spokesman Jonathan Tee says the organization is budgeting for up to 500 Montana scholarships this fall. The schools themselves will award the scholarships.
To qualify, a family must earn less than 185 percent of the federal poverty level, or $41,348 for a family of four.
