Following hours of committee debate Wednesday, state lawmakers ultimately approved a bill increasing Milwaukee's school choice cap, passing it on to the full Legislature for consideration.

The controversial bill is the product of a recent agreement between Gov. Jim Doyle and Assembly Speaker John Gard, R-Peshtigo, to increase the existing cap of 15,000 by 7,500 students.

While the compromise disappointed some Democrats, many Republican lawmakers viewed the negotiation as a giant step forward and testified in support of Senate Bill 618 at Wednesday's Senate and Assembly joint committee hearing.

"I believe this is a historic piece of legislation," Assembly Committee member Rep. Leah Vukmir, R-Wauwatosa, said. "The Milwaukee parental choice program is the national model for education reform. The eyes of the nation are upon us today."

Vukmir, who helped author the bill, said an increased cap will allow low-income students to receive the quality education they deserve.

A majority of committee members agreed with Vukmir, even as lawmakers listened to testimonies from some Milwaukee officials who opposed the bill.

Voucher program opponents fear an increased cap will unfairly disadvantage Milwaukee Public School students, by cutting the system's budget and endangering programs like art, music and physical education.

According to Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who testified at the hearing, the bill would cost the city's property taxpayers more than $23 million.

While Barrett added he supports school choice, he said he does not back the bill in its current form and advocated fundamental alterations.

"I'm here to tell you on behalf of the citizens of the city of Milwaukee that this program, as it is currently financed, is not fiscally sustainable," he said, adding, "I want to stop getting kicked in the teeth every time another student is added to the program."

Although the state technically pays $3,000 less to school a voucher student as opposed to an MPS student, taxpayers end up paying $1,000 more, Barrett said.

"This is not a partisan issue. This is real people's money," he added. "There's nothing partisan about property taxes."

School choice proponents, however, said an increased cap immediately provides real solutions to kids.

"I'm not going to tell my constituents they're going to have to wait two, three, four more years before some of those schools are going to improve," bill author Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, said. "This is about opportunity now."

But Sen. Robert Jauch, D-Poplar, argued that the bill, while it may provide some security to choice students, does nothing to offer certainty to public school students.

In the past, the school choice program has spurred a political stir, as a number of teachers' associations have pointed fingers at Republican lawmakers and school choice advocates have launched an angry media campaign against the governor.

While the debate continues, most legislators agreed they are trying to best represent the interests of Milwaukee children.

"In my mind, this program is not about ideological or partisan politics," said Howard Fuller, bill supporter and chairman of the Black Alliance for Educational Options' board of directors. "At the end of the day, it is about providing a beacon of light in a sea of darkness."

The compromise also includes provisions to increase funding for the Student Achievement Guarantee in Education program, and would also require voucher schools to undergo standardized testing and accountability measures.

Assembly committee members passed the bill in a 6 to 2 vote. Senate committee members will be voting by absentee ballot.