K4-12 private choice school adding new $49 million school building.
K4-12 private choice school adding new $49 million school building. Back to the full article.
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Here is a school that will be getting tens of millions taxpayer dollars with no real accountability or transparency in how this money is spent while the school retains the ability to cull the student body of any student that might be challenging to educatedand refusing admission to most special education students.
When voucher schools like this accept all students regardless of their needs – then we can talk about performance. Do they accept children in these categories? With Jeramy’s glowing praise of this school he needs to clarify what students they don’t accept and the reason why and how that impacts overall performance of the school.
Autism
Blind and Visually Impaired
Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Emotional Behavioral Disablitity
Intellectual Disability
Orthopedic Impairment
Other Health Impairment
Significant Developmental Delay
Specifica Learning Disability
Speech and Language
Traumatic Brain Injury
I’m unclear on the statement above regarding accountability. The article indicates that the WI Department of Public Instruction monitors/evaluates the school. Is there some other WI State department this school is required to report to?
Regarding the statement on transparency, I’m curious on what ( besides operating the school ) they would spend the $8500 on?
Last question is: is $8500 the actual amount spent per student in that area’s public school or is $8500 the the actual cost per student in that area’s public school, or is $8500 the result of some mystical formula?
Appreciate your insight, thank you.
… and question for the 2nd comment: your detailed list steers me to believe you’re more knowledgeable than UM about the topic.
Make life simple for readers… can you clarify what students this school doesn’t accept and the reason why and how that impacts overall performance? And if you could provide a link to the specific data source is much appreciated. I’m curious to learn more about how my tax $ is being spent & appreciate your insight, thank you
Imagine if public schools got even a fraction of the money that’s getting stolen to fund these private schools.
Simply disgusting what’s going on.
So it is correct to say that every school that is not considered a ‘public school is considered a voucher school regardless of whether there is a religious affiliation or not? Is the voucher dependent upon the parent requesting it or is the money automatic?
Can anyone supply the per student dollars the public schools get?
Kaygeert – Voucher schools are private schools that use taxpayer dollars to subsidize the cost of private education for K4-12 students from lower-income families in the form of a voucher. The payments go directly from the state to the school based on the number of voucher students enrolled at the school at the beginning of each semester.
Parents who qualify may choose to send their children to private voucher schools instead of their local public school.
In Wisconsin, voucher schools are those currently participating in at least one of four state-run, state-funded programs: the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, the Racine Parental Choice Program, the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program and the Special Needs Scholarship (SNSP) Program.
For 2023-24, the annual voucher payment is $8,399 for K-8 students, and the schools cannot charge additional tuition from these families. For grade 9-12 students, the annual payment is $9,045, and schools may charge additional tuition if the family’s income exceeds 220% of the federal poverty level, which is $61,050 for a family of four.
https://wisconsinwatch.org/2023/05/considering-a-wisconsin-voucher-school-heres-what-parents-should-know/
@keygeeret – Private schools opt into the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (or other programs across the state). A number of them are not religious. The money is automatic, if the student is qualifies (income restrictions) and enrolls in the program.
The amount spent and received (from the state) for public schools varies by district.
@wardt01 – The voucher amount (which will rise as part of the Act 12 bargaining) is set by a formula and doled out by the state on “third Friday” count days across the year.
@Paul Trotter – Unlike many voucher schools, St. Augustine does have a sizable special education population. It’s something I explicitly asked about, but with a focus on speech services given that my wife is a speech therapist at MPS. As you might be hinting at, voucher and charter schools can not explicitly refuse a student because of their special needs, but they may not provide the services the student needs (creating a de facto refusal) or they may not provide the quality of the service the student needs (resulting in the student slowly transitioning back to MPS). The way it works from a policy perspective is, simply put, a complete mess.