With money and fight, Kirtley pushes for school choice

By STEPHEN HEGARTY

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 21, 2000

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- John Kirtley stepped away from a conference on school choice, plopped into a chair and breathed a deep sigh. He was tired.

The Tampa venture capitalist who has devoted $2.5-million, maybe $3-million, of his money to the cause of school vouchers was wishing he had a lot more money.

"You know, I wish I was Ted Forstmann," said Kirtley, 36, referring to the financier who has pledged $50-million to the cause. "I wish I had that kind of money."

Kirtley had another reason to be tired. It's his heart.

Kirtley, a veteran of the Ironman Triathlon, recently learned that his heart isn't working properly. The sinus node, which generates an electric impulse that causes the heart to beat, is not doing its job. His heart rate is erratic. It won't go as high as it should when he exercises, and drops dangerously low when he sleeps.

Though Kirtley still looks like the fittest person you know, the heart condition means he can no longer rattle off five-minute miles, swim for miles in the surf or spend hours on his bike.

"I did my last Ironman with half a heart," Kirtley said.

He has made tentative plans to have a pacemaker inserted. Though they still can't say why the condition suddenly cropped up (it is more common among children), his doctors tell him the pacemaker will regulate his heartbeat.

Kirtley just wants to remain fit so he can continue to devote himself to the school choice cause.

The day after the Leon County judge tossed out Florida's school voucher law, Gov. Jeb Bush held a quick "what next" meeting at the governor's mansion.

The governor brought in Patrick Heffernan, head of Floridians for School Choice, a representative from the national vouchers group Children First and a representative of financier Ted Forstmann.

And John Kirtley.

In no time, the courtroom defeat wasn't looking so bad. Kirtley and Forstmann were prepared to use their own money to keep the voucher program alive. There was talk of a fundraising campaign to expand the program with private money.

"John's a great guy," Bush said last week. "I hadn't even met him until he got involved with the Children's Scholarship Fund. But he's very dedicated. I appreciate his passionate commitment to school choice."

In just a couple of years, Kirtley has become a key player in the voucher debate. He put up $1.5-million to start a private scholarship fund for low-income children in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. He recently pledged $2-million -- $500,000 of his own money -- to help private schools around the state expand so they can participate in the state's publicly funded voucher program.

"Without John Kirtley I can't imagine what the effort in Florida would look like," said Zack Dawes with the national group Children First.

Kirtley is quietly becoming a key figure on the national scene, too. He has befriended fellow Ironman Gary Johnson, the New Mexico governor who hopes to start a voucher program in his state.

Kirtley made his millions through Florida Capital Partners, a venture capital firm in Tampa. He and college friend Jeff Leck started the company in 1988 when they were 25, investing in small odd-niche companies with bright futures. Their track record has been remarkable, and they have attracted capital from some of the nation's leading investors.

The wealth that followed led Kirtley, a disciple of economist Milton Friedman's free market ideas, to look for smart ways to give money away.

He found his answer at a Catholic school in the Bronx. Kirtley, a non-Catholic who attended public schools all his life, became convinced that private and religious schools could do more with students using less money.

"I never questioned his motives; he struck me as a guy who wanted to see underprivileged kids succeed," said the Rev. Ed Lamp of St. Peter Claver School in Tampa. Lamp introduced Kirtley to church leaders and community leaders as he tried to get his scholarship program off the ground.

Kirtley planned to give scholarships to 750 area kids. He got 12,500 applications.

Watching Kirtley make a speech, you have to wonder if he has political aspirations. He's well-informed, passionate, good looking. And because he's not married and has no kids, he has time to devote himself to the right cause.

Kirtley's friend and business partner dismisses that idea.

"He would be a great politician," Leck said. "He has a strong sense of morality and ethics. But I don't think he has much tolerance for the political process as it is."

Kirtley, who has contributed to Bush and to the state Republican Party, also waves off talk of political ambitions. When asked whether Bush or some other prominent GOP figures had approached him about running for office, Kirtley shook his head.

"I'm not good at compromising and cutting deals. And besides," he said, "I think the governor likes me where I am."

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