Minocqua Brewery Super PAC Sues to End Voucher Schools
Suit charges they violate state Constitution and are destroying public education.
St. Augustine Preparatory School classroom. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
The owner of a Northwoods brewpub is challenging the legality of Wisconsin’s private voucher school program, calling it “devastating” to public schools.
Minocqua Brewery owner Kirk Bangstad regularly mixes his business operations with fights for liberal causes. He funded the lawsuit on behalf of Wisconsin parents, grandparents and “concerned citizens.” Bangstad said the current school financing system fails to equitably distribute resources and threatens the financial stability of public education in Wisconsin.
Last year, Wisconsin taxpayers spent about $568.5 million on the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program, the Racine Parental Choice Program, the Special Needs Scholarship Program, and the Independent Charter School Program, according to Department of Public Instruction records.
Next year, that amount will increase. The state budget included the largest financial expansion to private school choice in the program’s history.
Funding for kindergarten through 8th grade private choice schools increased from about $8,400 per student to $9,500 per student. Funding for private choice high schools will go from $9,045 to $12,000 per student.
“The revenue limit and funding schemes for voucher school programs and independent charter schools violate the Wisconsin Constitution’s Public-Purpose Requirement and the Uniform Taxation Clause,” said Brian Potts, an attorney on the case. “This parasitic funding system is pushing public school districts into an ever-worsening financial crisis, which is leading to what can only be described as a funding death spiral for public education.”
But voucher school advocates say if the lawsuit is successful, low-income children will suffer because they are the beneficiaries of private school education through the voucher system.
Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty President and General Counsel Rick Esenberg said the conservative law firm is preparing to file a motion to intervene in the case to defend the parents, students and teachers who participate in choice schools across the state. Esenberg called the lawsuit “incomplete, misleading and misinformed.”
“Wisconsin’s choice program serves over 52,000 students and plays a vital role in Wisconsin’s education system,” Esenberg said in a statement. “Unfortunately, far-left interest groups are uniting behind a Super PAC, to take education options away from low- and middle-income kids and families across the state.”
State Superintendent Jill Underly released a statement, saying she welcomes any opportunity that would strengthen public education.
“Education represents an incredible opportunity to learn, grow, and strengthen our state, but public education represents even more than that. Public education is a constitutional right,” Underly’s statement said. “Wisconsin needs to fulfill its responsibility to effectively, equitably, and robustly fund our public education system. I welcome any opportunity to move Wisconsin in that direction.”
The lawsuit is being funded by the Minocqua Brewing Company‘s SuperPAC, which Bangstad has used since 2021 to fund liberal political causes.
The group has purchased billboard ads attacking Republican politicians and marketed beers named after Democratic politicians including an Evers Ale for Gov. Tony Evers and Tammy Shandy for U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin.
Bangstad first announced his efforts to end Wisconsin’s private school voucher system in August on social media.
In his Facebook post, Bangstad said the Wisconsin Constitution’s “public purpose requirement,” states that public funds can only be used for public purposes.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has already rejected a similar challenge to Milwaukee Parental Choice Program in 1992. But Bangstad believes since that decision, the voucher program has changed.
“Voucher programs are no longer experimental; they have ballooned and become entrenched throughout Wisconsin,” he wrote. “As a result, our legal team believes that this decision should not serve as legal precedent to uphold the voucher programs in their current form.”
Bangstad also said that because taxpayer funded voucher schools do not have to comply with core educational standards and have no obligation to provide services to students with disabilities, they should not be subsidized.
His case is being led by Washington DC-based attorney Greg Lipper, Madison-based Potts and Minocqua-based attorney Fred Melms.
Bangstad estimates his case will cost at least $200,000. He’s asking for donations.
This summer, Bangstad was in jeopardy of losing his business over a dispute involving parking regulations and plans to open an outdoor beer garden.
The dispute was later resolved, but during the conflict with the Oneida County zoning committee, Bangstad took to social media repeatedly claiming he was being targeted by a conservative board because of his liberal political views.
Bangstad briefly ran for Congress as a Democrat in 2015, and he ran for state Assembly in 2020.
This is not his first education-related lawsuit.
In October 2021, the Minocqua Brewing Company super PAC filed a federal class action lawsuit against the Waukesha School District for ending mask mandates.
The suit was dismissed by Wisconsin’s Eastern District court in December 2021.
Minocqua Brewery SuperPAC aims to end private voucher schools in new lawsuit was first published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
So lets tell it as it is. A wealthy white racist in northern wisconsin wants to prevent predominantly poor families of color from attending the schools of their choice! This person should consider themselves a racist at best
Ryan Cotic, the majority of children of poor families of color attend public schools which are being starved of needed funds by the various Choice programs. Choice schools can pick and choose which students they admit and often “counsel out” challenging students (after “Third Friday”, of course, thereby keeping the funds while handing over the student to a public school which is legally mandated to admit all comers). Public schools, unlike Choice schools, are legally mandated to provide a free and appropriate education for all students (including those with special needs) which, is expensive. Public schools need to be funded at a level that allow them to deliver mandated services.
Religious schools should not be supported by taxpayer dollars. Period.
Wow this guy really wants to kick families while their down
Ryan – have you thought about the GOP’s refusal to help black and white women stay in their jobs by passing Ever’s childcare proposal? Is that racist?
Poor Diana–you have drunk the Kool-Aid about Choice schools picking and choosing their students. Simply not true. I have worked on behalf of Choice and Charter schools since they began decades ago. In fact, Choice and Charter schools have as many students with special needs as any public school because they receive a better education. If our public schools in general are not meeting the needs of poor, underserved families, don’t you want these children to have a better education?
If regular public schools were doing their job and students were doing well–both regular and special needs–, you would not have to worry about any other school program. Thank God parents have a choice as to what is best for their child. The resulting grades of these students demonstrate that Choice and Charter schools deserve everyone’s support.
Kcoyromano-please reference some published statistical data that supports your assertion that Choice schools have as many students with special needs as public schools do because I do not believe you are correct.
For those interested in more serious commentary instead of verbal bombast, a Wisconsin Examiner piece may be more appealing: https://tinyurl.com/yerr4ny5
Diana, there are a number of statistical studies as well as annual reports about the success of choice/charter school students vs. regular public schools. If you would like to pay me for my time, I would be happy to compile that extensive data with you. In addition choice/charter schools also put together IEPs for special needs students as well as follow state education performance standards outlined for all students.
kcoyromano@sbcglobal.net There is no evidence that voucher schools are putting together formal IEPs using the protocol required by public schools throughout the state. There is no evidence that choice schools are employing specialists to conduct these IEPs with formal testing from various experts.
Regarding your statement that choice schools provide a better education – that is simply not true. Recent statewide Forward exams in fact tell a different story. Choice schools performed significantly below public schools in math and language skill.
Schools in the Wisconsin Parental Choice program scored almost 17 points worse than public schools in English and language arts, with a total proficiency score of 22.1% compared to public schools’ 38.9%. They did even worse in math – almost 20 points behind public school students, with a voucher score of 17.9% versus public schools’ 37.4%.
There is no evidence that choice schools educate the same amount of SE students as MPS. Any eveidence presented is purely based on teachers and administrators labeling them as SE without emperical evidence such as standardized testing done by a psychologist, speech pathologist, LD teachers, social workers,
BD teachers, occupational therapists, phyical therapists. There is no evdivdence that these students subjectively labeled as SE using eligiblity criteria spelled out in federal and state laws.
I’m sorry but I have other work to do. I am personally familiar with the IEPs put together by choice and charter schools as I worked with and in these schools for many years. They also have special education teachers working with these students. You cite there is no evidence that choice and charter schools are often superior–but I counter with the fact that evidence cites otherwise. I can’t waste any more of my time with you.
kcoyromano@sbcglobal.net
As I thought – you have no evidence to back your claims. Choice schools identified SE students based solely on subjective observations. What choice schools provide for support is inferior to what public schools provide.
When it comes to state funding for child care, GOP politicians like Dan Knodl and Dan Feyen rail against “throwing more state money at it every two years.” But when it comes to shoveling taxpayer money at the failing (see https://tinyurl.com/yerr4ny5 cited above) private voucher schools, GOP politicians open the spigot.
Last June, for example, Republicans agreed to boost funding for K-12 statewide as long as voucher schools got a boost, too. So now, taxpayers will fork out almost $3,000 more each year for every student attending private high schools participating in the voucher program. These ideologues are perfectly fine with diverting state money from the public schools that work to the private voucher schools that don’t.
Paull–you are wrong. Please do your own research–and not through far–right organizations who have their own agendas. There is plenty of empirical research from professional and academic organizations.
kcoyromano@sbcglobal.net
I already gave you evidence. I’m not doing your job. And just because you said it doesn’t make it true. I refuted everything you said . Prove me wrong.
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/highly-negative-impacts-vouchers/
Private schools are private businesses.
Why would we tax everyone to prop up private businesses?
If “choice” in a government program is so great, why don’t we
have “choice” in the fire department and the police?
Wouldn’t competition make them better? Of course, that
is preposterous.
If the government is going to prop up private businesses, then where is
our money? I am sure everyone here who runs a business would
love to have the government pump money into them.
Thanks Kirk, and thanks for the delicious brew your team brews! (MBC swag is pretty sweet, too!)