This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Schools

DPI, Racine Unified and Community Leaders Criticize Prospect of School Vouchers

State Superintendent Evers says, "A significant debate coming."

Describing Wisconsin’s public school system as “under attack,” State Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Tony Evers told a Thursday afternoon news conference that taxpayer-supported vouchers would do more harm than good in Racine.

The event, assembled by the Racine Unified School District at the Walden III Middle/High School cafeteria, was in response to recent pronouncements by Governor Scott Walker that he’d like to see something like the Milwaukee Parental School Choice Program brought to Racine, Beloit and Green Bay.

Under the 20-year-old Milwaukee program, students in low-income households receive vouchers worth $6,442 each to attend private schools in Milwaukee, including religious schools. A provision in the proposed state budget for 2011-13 would phase out the family income limits, lift enrollment caps and expand the voucher program throughout Milwaukee County.

Find out what's happening in Mount Pleasant-Sturtevantwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

But, as Evers, RUSD Superintendent Dr. Jim Shaw and others stated before TV cameras, microphones and notepads, vouchers are a bad idea.

Evers cited the proposed 2011-13 state budget that cuts about $800 million in public school aid as the first threat to public education and the potential of splitting what’s left among public and private schools as the next threat.

Find out what's happening in Mount Pleasant-Sturtevantwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

He added that the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has “achieved some success” in making Milwaukee choice schools accountable by administering standardized tests last year. Those test scores showed that students in the choice program performed no better or worse than students in the Milwaukee Public Schools. A provision in the upcoming state budget would eliminate the state-administered tests for choice program schools.

“It’s clear that some people don’t want to hear news that interferes with their ideology,” said Evers.

Shaw, whose district plans to eliminate about 125 full-time positions to balance its next budget, said the prospect of vouchers makes a bad situation worse.

“It means less money for Racine Unified and more money for private schools,” he said adding that state funding formulas are based on the number of students enrolled in district schools.

“Common sense and research suggest there is only one critical educational reform: quality teaching. Vouchers and quality teaching are not directly associated,” Shaw said.

Rep. Cory Mason, D-Racine, made a special trip back from Madison to offer his input at the event. “We have one constitutional spending requirement. That is, to adequately educate all of our children,” he said. “The way to see kids succeed is not to defund public schools and increase vouchers.”

Others speaking their minds against school vouchers included RUSD School Board member Don Nielsen and Beverly Hicks, NAACP Racine Branch second vice president.

Although the Milwaukee School Choice modifications are now before the Republican-controlled Legislature, bringing a voucher program to Racine has not been introduced. However, Evers said he believes that the expanded vouchers will be included in the next state budget.

“It could be a surprise omnibus bill that will be attached to the state budget,” he said. “Because it would be an amendment, there would be no public input.”

Following the press conference, Rep. Mason confirmed that the Joint Finance Committee has the power to add an expanded voucher program to the budget. He expects that could occur within the next couple of weeks.

Rep. Robin Vos, R-Rochester, Joint Finance Committee co-chair, has long supported expanding school vouchers to other parts of the state. His office did not return phone calls to Patch on Wednesday or Thursday.

Meanwhile, a school choice advocate in the audience, who was distributing copies of a “Racine School Choice Initiative” to reporters, said that the local critics’ fears are overblown.

Mike Ford, who identified himself as a researcher for School Choice Wisconsin, said that school choice advocates want standardized testing. He anticipates that schools in the Milwaukee program will continue to administer the same standardized tests that are given to public school students.

The initiative that his organization recommends is based on the Milwaukee program, which has 20,996 students enrolled at 102 private schools in 2010-11. Ford pointed out that the first year of a Racine voucher program would have about 350 students enrolled because the program would only cover students entering high school, entering kindergarten, moving into the district or switching from a public to a private school.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Mount Pleasant-Sturtevant