Representatives from four of the nine Wisconsin school districts that would be affected by Gov. Scott Walker’s budget proposal to expand the state’s education voucher system voiced concerns Tuesday in a conference call organized by state Rep. Sondy Pope, D-Cross Plains.
The representatives, including superintendents and communications officials from school districts representing Madison, Kenosha, Superior and West Allis-West Milwaukee, said they had concerns that Walker’s plan for expansion, which he has said is designed to give students access to the best learning opportunities, would only hurt the state’s public school system.
Michele Hancock, the superintendent for Kenosha’s school district, said the voucher expansion would add to the large funding cuts public schools had to deal with after Walker’s last budget.
“Our revenue is generated by student enrollment and we have already gone through two years of budgetary cuts,” Hancock said. “We don’t need to have this happen again to us.”
Additionally, Brian Vissers, the communications specialist for the West Allis-West Milwaukee district, said the different standards the state applies to public and private schools are problematic. The state exempts private schools from certain public school requirements, such as having to report their test scores and their tax dollar spending.
“Any time you have public dollars going to educate children, there needs to be accountability and transparency with those dollars,” Vissers said. “Under the current system there is neither.”
The district representatives said they were working with their local representatives to bring their concerns to the state legislature before any progress is made on approving the expansion.
