Sinquefield: I am coming after teacher tenure

Retired billionaire Rex Sinquefield tells the Wall Street Journal that he is planning a full-fledged attack on teacher tenure in Missouri in 2014 and warns that he is about to come into much more money than he currently has:

In 2014, Mr. Sinquefield is planning his most ambitious ballot initiative to date: abolishing teacher tenure in Missouri. He says the initiative polls very well, particularly when tied to merit pay. But he knows that "teachers unions would come in from across the country to oppose it. This will be a brutal battle."

Citing Milton Friedman, Mr. Sinquefield says: "In every business, in every industry, consumers have almost complete choice, except for the one that's most important, which is education." He has funded 2,000 scholarships to private schools for public-school students, through a voucher program run by the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

He is always looking for new ideas. In 2005, he launched the Show-Me Institute, a free-market think tank based in St. Louis. Motto: "Advancing liberty with responsibility by promoting market solutions for Missouri public policy." Mr. Sinquefield's eyes light up when he cites the institute's findings on matters like tax policy and school vouchers. He may have been bored with the fund business, but he isn't bored now.

And liberals should know that there's much more to come. "When Dimensional gets sold," he says, "that's when I'll really be able to give money away."