The article contains significant discussion of the shifting roles of different types of civil society actors-like parents or the general public - when private funding occurs in public school systems.For example, a shift in funding was found to potentially disenfranchise some civil society actors who lost a voice in local education policy and parents were found to be re-positioned as consumers and governors of schools.The cases highlighted in the article demonstrate the interplay of government, private funding and civil actors in education systems.The patterns found in the article can be discussed in other contexts.