Although he is a long way from his Austrian homeland, the former bodybuilder and action star has turned out to be one of the most influential and successful governors of the state of California. Arnold Schwarzenegger twice enjoyed landslide victories for the gubernatorial seat of California, once in his first run in the 2003 Recall Elections and the second in the 2006 Elections.

Despite a few oppositions, Schwarzenegger’s stint as a governor has successful initiatives. In the area of education, Schwarzenegger loudly supports the charter school program and is primarily responsible for the recent increase of charter schools in the state of California.

One of the reasons why the Californian governor supports the charter schools movement is because of the great degree of involvement it gives to the parents. Another is that Arnold Schwarzenegger touts charter schools as the focal element in improving the quality of education offered by public schools.

Funding charter schools in California has always been an obstacle for the full growth of the education reform initiative.

Governor Schwarzenegger has recently signed several bills that further bolster the presence of charter schools in California. The Senate Bill 658 by Sen. Gloria Romero and AB 2033 by Speaker Emeritus Fabián Núñez have been enacted by Schwarzenegger to expand opportunities for charter schools to open in California. Other bills signed by Schwarzenegger have provisions that lower the interest rate for lease payments on approved charter school facility projects.

Aside from his commitment towards the charter schools movement, Schwarzenegger also provided policies that would improve other school-related, non-academic services such as home-to-school transportation and school maintenance.

In recognition of his support for the charter schools movement, the CHIME Charter Elementary School in Woodland Hills, California, was renamed to the CHIME Institute’s Arnold Schwarzenegger Elementary School in honor of the governor. Time Magazine has named Schwarzenegger as one of the 100 People who helped shape the world twice, first in 2004 and the second in 2007.