Due to a cap in the enrollment of the Milwaukee school-choice program, only 14,850 low-income students will enroll into voucher schools funded by state taxes for the 2005-06 school year. Enrollment began this week.
Although legislation to lift the voucher cap was approved by the State Assembly Jan. 20 in a 58-35 vote, Gov. Jim Doyle refused to sign the bill unless it addressed broader, statewide education.
Assembly Speaker John Gard, R-Peshtigo, and other Republican assembly members met with Doyle last week to reach a compromise on enrollment caps. Doyle will propose $50 million for a broader statewide education package that would reduce class size in his upcoming budget, according to Doyle spokesperson Melanie Fonder.
Had Doyle signed the proposed bill, the enrollment cap for the 2005-06 and 2006-07 school years would have been eliminated, requiring an estimated $9.8 million. School officials will now resort to a rationing system to determine which students are eligible to enroll for voucher programs if high trends persist.
Proponents of the bill argue that voucher schools give low-income students a better education through state taxes and give parents more choices.
However, opponents of the bill argue that voucher schools take money from public schools and place funds into private schools while failing to hold voucher schools accountable for standardized testing required within public schools.
According to Doyle’s office, voucher schools operate under different charters.
“When it comes to standardized testing, Doyle wants all schools to be accountable to taxpayers,” Fonder said. “The bill the Assembly approved would have cost Milwaukee $4 million and the state $9 million,” Fonder said.
Republican representatives have focused solely on the vouchers and not on statewide measures, Fonder argued.
According to Rep. Jon Richards, D-Milwaukee, an opponent of the legislation, the bill would be detrimental to the improvement of Milwaukee Public Schools.
“There’s a quirk in the formula that really reduces MPS spending,” Richards said. “We have a number of great schools in MPS, and things are moving in the right direction. Standardized test scores are improving, attendance rates are improving [and] we want these trends to continue in the future.”
Mike Mikalsen, spokesperson for Rep. Stephen Nass, R-Whitewater, said despite recent improvements, Milwaukee Public Schools are still not compatible with voucher schools.
Milwaukee currently spends $11,700 per pupil, while voucher schools use $6,000 per student, he added.
“In the long run, more money won’t improve MPS,” Mikalsen said.
Teachers’ unions that are backed by Doyle have no desire for parental choice because they may risk lower salaries and fewer jobs, according to Mikalsen.
The enrollment cap could affect University of Wisconsin students. According to UW Communications Spokesman Dennis Chaptman, in fall 2005, 106 incoming freshmen had graduated from Milwaukee private schools out of 5,642 incoming students from Milwaukee.
