Jim Walton (right) at a Walmart shareholder meeting in 2011 Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Walmart heir and Arvest Bank CEO Jim Walton donated $500,000 last month to a group working to defeat a proposed constitutional amendment on K-12 education, according to documents filed this week with the Arkansas Ethics Commission.

The Arkansas Educational Rights Amendment would require private schools that accept public funding in the form of school vouchers to meet the same academic standards as public schools. It would also guarantee pre-K, afterschool care and other services. Organizers must gather over 90,000 signatures statewide before a July deadline in order to get the proposal before Arkansas voters in the November election.

The school voucher program was created by the Arkansas LEARNS Act, the sweeping K-12 education law championed by Gov. Sarah Sanders and passed by the state Legislature last year.

Walton, 75, has an estimated net worth of $78.4 billion, according to Forbes, making him the 18th wealthiest person in the world. (Siblings Rob Walton and Alice Walton are close behind, at $77.4 billion and $72.3 billion, the magazine says.)

Arkansans for Students and Educators, a ballot question committee with connections to Sanders, was formed in April to oppose the Educational Rights Amendment. In addition to the $500,000 donation from Jim Walton, the group’s most recent disclosure form showed it received $10,000 from Winrock Farms CEO Lisenne Rockefeller and $1,000 from Simmons Bank CEO George Makris.

Steve Adams of Carrollton, Georgia, contributed another $25,000 to Arkansans for Students and Educators. Adams is the president and CEO of Verida, a medical transportation company based in Georgia. 

The group also received $100,000 from a separate (but related) ballot question committee, Stronger Arkansas, which was formed to oppose proposed amendments related to medical cannabis and abortion, along with the education measure. Both committees include officers associated with Sanders, including Little Rock-based political consultant Chris Caldwell, who chaired Sanders’ 2022 gubernatorial campaign.

The libertarian/conservative political advocacy group Americans for Prosperity, which was founded by billionaires Charles and David Koch, made non-monetary contributions of $25,068 to Arkansans for Students and Educators in the form of canvassing, ad placements and other services. 

In stark contrast to the $636,000 raised by the group in April, For AR Kids, the ballot question committee promoting the Educational Rights Amendment, reported raising $2,369 last month. That brings its total contributions to $4,561. 

Arkansans for Students and Educators has already spent several times more than what For AR Kids has raised — it spent $29,803 in April, mostly on advertising through a Washington, D.C., company that specializes in peer-to-peer text messaging.

Stronger Arkansas reported that it did not raise any money last month. The group has raised $250,000 in total and spent $140,586. In addition to the $100,000 it sent to Arkansans for Students and Educators, the group spent more than $26,000 on advertising and other services.

Arkansas for Patient Access, a committee supporting an amendment to expand access to medical marijuana, raised $238,067 from 17 donors largely associated with the state’s cannabis industry.

Osage Creek Cultivation’s donation of $77,000 was the largest donation of the month. Natural State Medicinals, a cultivator in White Hall, was the second largest contributor with $25,000. Other donors included Carpenter Farms Medical Group, Delta Cannabis Company, Delta Cultivators, High Speed Extracts, M&M Cannabis Ventures, NEA Green and River Valley Production. 

The committee has raised a total of $976,516 and has spent $583,202. 

The Ethics Commission website did not list a May filing for Arkansas for Limited Government, the group promoting an amendment to restore access to abortion in Arkansas. The state currently bans abortion in almost all instances.

The Arkansas Family Council is also working to defeat the abortion, cannabis and education amendments. The group reported raising $100,119 last month, led by $99,240 from Ronnie Cameron of Mountaire Corporation. It reported total contributions of $120,695.

The Arkansas Period Poverty Project, a group promoting an amendment to eliminate sales taxes on feminine hygiene products and diapers, reported no contributions last month. The group has raised $2,711 to date. 

Benjamin Hardy is managing editor at the Arkansas Times.